Teaching advanced communication skills to trainees caring for the critically injured

Abstract

Trauma or injury is a sudden, unexpected event that often impacts previously healthy individuals, resulting in disability or death. Families and patients need support as they cope with this life-altering event. Physical or psychological impairments post-trauma may not improve despite the best treatment. Patients and families need ongoing effective and empathetic communication. Current training in trauma care is centered on life-saving clinical skills, with little attention to development of the empathic communication skills that are needed in this area of medicine. We can attempt to bridge this gap by designing a curriculum addressing trainee’s communication skills in trauma.