Breaking bad news Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Breaking bad news - Essay Example However, older people exhibit diseases and shorter life span because of bad treatment. In other words, the society and its communication to these people play a large part in health care services. A health care professional always thinks of a way on how to break bad news to patients. For these people, it is essential, difficult and often the most critical part of healthcare communication. For some, breaking bad news to patients is an innate skill. Patients have a hard time disclosing their feelings or find it necessary to establish a relationship of trust to be able to more easily accept the disclosure of such news. Presenting bad news to patients may give a negative result that may in turn lead to serious harm. All of these beliefs are made with a strong sense of suspicion; breaking bad news to patients is a skill learned rather than a talent. Medical doctors, for example, have in their education an area of learning good communication skills that entails a long period of learning (Back, 1999). Preparations – in ethical terms, the atmosphere provided should be private on both the part of the patient and the medical professional. In general, patients have varying needs; hence, it is appropriate to discuss with the patient who he/she wants to be the recipients of the information and major decisions like how much should be the information. Statements such as â€Å"How are you feeling right now?† would help the patient prepare himself for a two-way affair. Finding out how much the patient knows – in such aspect asking a question such as â€Å"What have already been told about your illness?† may be essential. This approach would likely measure the patient’s knowledge about his/her illness. It is also appropriate to ask patients how much they have understood on the information given, the patient’s level of technical comprehension and most of all is his/her emotional status. Finding out how much the patient’s capacity of accepting