Elahe Rezayof, Setareh Akhavan, Leila Afshar, Marjan Ghaemi, Leyla Sahebi, Somayeh Akbari Farmad
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Steroid Horm Sci
Statement of the Problem: Delivering bad news to patients poses challenges for physicians and residents, primarily due to the absence of structured and practical training. This study aimed to create and assess an innovative virtual instructional approach to enhance Ob/Gyn residents' skills in communicating bad news. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: The virtual instructional design was conducted following the ADDIE model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) from September 2020 to July 2021 at the Department of Ob/Gyn in a referral hospital associated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The five stages of the ADDIE model for virtual instructional design were executed in order. Findings: A total of 33 Ob/Gyn residents participated in the study, with 77% indicating a need for specialized training. The residents required improvement in seven areas: interview context, strategy, planning, professionalism, empathy, knowledge, and the ability to receive necessary information for breaking bad news. The virtual training package was developed based on prior identified training needs and included four multimedia lectures by professors, a short educational video, and a 65-page document that contained text and images divided into four sections. The mean pre-test and post-test scores (SD) were 9.45 (2.0) and 10.67 (1.7), respectively (p-value 0.001) in both cognitive and attitudinal domains. In the conclusion stage, final adjustments were made to the virtual training package. Notably, the satisfaction rate among residents reached 96.5%. Conclusion & Significance: A majority of Ob/Gyn residents lack the essential understanding and abilities to communicate bad news effectively to patients. The development of an appropriate virtual training package aimed at enhancing communication skills has proven to be satisfactory. Therefore, the training program's effectiveness should be extended to all Ob/Gyn residents.
Elahe Rezayof is a researcher at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery from TUMS and a Master of Science in Medical Education from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Currently, she works as a clinical colleague in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology at Vali-e-Asr Hospital, where she is responsible for taking comprehensive medical histories of patients diagnosed with gynecological cancers and electronically documenting the records of patients who have undergone surgical interventions for such conditions. Her primary research interests encompass gynecologic oncology and medical education. In addition to her clinical duties, she holds the position of Managing Editor for the Journal of Family and Reproductive Health, contributing actively to the dissemination of scientific articles.
