Breaking bad news: Awareness and practice of the SPIKES protocol among general surgery residents at a tertiary care institute in northern India

Abstract

Background In general surgery, a clinician is commonly required to break bad news. However, training in communication is not a part of the formal curriculum either in medical school or in surgical residency and there is a paucity of data on awareness of the SPIKES (Setting up the interview, Perception, Invitation, Knowledge sharing, Emotion, Strategy and Summary) protocol among practising surgeons and residents in India. Methods We did a cross-sectional study in the Department of General Surgery at our institution. Junior residents were invited to take part in a one-on-one interview. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the findings of the study. Comparison for categorical data was done using Fisher exact test or chi-square test (whichever was applicable). Results A total of 82 residents with mean (SD) age of 27 (2.5) years (range 23–37 years) participated in the study. Only 31 (37.8%) had ever received training for breaking bad news, though 80 (97.6%) had broken bad news at least once. Twenty-one (26.3%) participants had a bad experience while breaking bad news. Seventy-seven (93.9%) participants felt the need for training in breaking bad news and 76 of them were willing to attend the same. Although the complete SPIKES protocol was followed only by 25 (31.3%) residents, 46 (56.1%) felt that it was practically possible to follow the SPIKES protocol. Conclusion Resident doctors in general surgery face situations of breaking bad news and adherence to the SPIKES protocol is poor. Formal training at every level may enhance their communication skills and enable better healthcare delivery.