Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39267024›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2024

Breaking bad news: an active learning method for medical students.

Laura Polivka, C Delcour, H Dufresne, S Bartoli, P Bataille, L Bekel, J Bonigen, E Deladrière, S Dimarcq, A Felix and 10 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Perceived Preparedness in Psycho-Oncology: A Cross-Sectional Comparison of Expectations and Training Experiences Among Undergraduate Psychology Students.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

20 authors.

Laura PolivkaDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France. laura.polivka@aphp.fr.
C DelcourDepartment of Obstetrical-Gynecology, Robert-Debré Hospital, AP-HP, Paris Cité University, Paris, EU, France.
H DufresneDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
S BartoliGeneral Pediatrics, Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine Department, Reference center for Rheumatic, AutoImmune and Systemic diseases in children (RAISE), Hôpital Robert-Debré, AP-HP, Paris Cité University, Paris, EU, France.
P BatailleDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
L BekelDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
J BonigenDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
E DeladrièreDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
S DimarcqDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
A FelixGeneral Pediatrics, Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine Department, Reference center for Rheumatic, AutoImmune and Systemic diseases in children (RAISE), Hôpital Robert-Debré, AP-HP, Paris Cité University, Paris, EU, France.
C HavasDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
H Le GoffDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
M LevyPaediatric Intensive Care Unit, Robert-Debré Hospital, AP-HP, Paris Cité University, Paris, EU, France.
E RibackDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
A Welfringer-MorinDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
V HoudouinDepartment of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Center, Robert-Debré Hospital, AP-HP, Paris Cité University, Paris, EU, France.
S Hadj-RabiaDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
C BodemerDepartment of Dermatology, Reference Center for Genodermatoses (MAGEC), Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris Cité University, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris, EU, 75015, France.
A FayeGeneral Pediatrics, Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine Department, Reference center for Rheumatic, AutoImmune and Systemic diseases in children (RAISE), Hôpital Robert-Debré, AP-HP, Paris Cité University, Paris, EU, France.
I MelkiGeneral Pediatrics, Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine Department, Reference center for Rheumatic, AutoImmune and Systemic diseases in children (RAISE), Hôpital Robert-Debré, AP-HP, Paris Cité University, Paris, EU, France.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBreaking bad news is one of the most difficult aspects of communication in medicine. The objective of this study was to assess the relevance of a novel active learning course on breaking bad news for fifth-year students.

methodsStudents were divided into two groups: Group 1, the intervention group, participated in a multidisciplinary formative discussion workshop on breaking bad news with videos, discussions with a pluri-professional team, and concluding with the development of a guide on good practice in breaking bad news through collective intelligence; Group 2, the control group, received no additional training besides conventional university course. The relevance of discussion-group-based active training was assessed in a summative objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) station particularly through the students' communication skills.

resultsThirty-one students were included: 17 in Group 1 and 14 in Group 2. The mean (range) score in the OSCE was significantly higher in Group 1 than in Group 2 (10.49 out of 15 (7; 13) vs. 7.80 (4.75; 12.5), respectively; p = 0.0007). The proportion of students assessed by the evaluator to have received additional training in breaking bad news was 88.2% (15 of the 17) in Group 1 and 21.4% (3 of the 14) in Group 2 (p = 0.001). The intergroup differences in the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Jefferson Scale of Empathy scores were not significant, and both scores were not correlated with the students' self-assessed score for success in the OSCE.

conclusionCompared to the conventional course, this new active learning method for breaking bad news was associated with a significantly higher score in a summative OSCE. A longer-term validation study is needed to confirm these exploratory data.

Indexed as

Physician-Patient RelationsProblem-Based LearningStudents, MedicalTruth DisclosureClinical CompetenceCommunicationEducational MeasurementEducation, Medical, UndergraduateFemaleHumansMaleAnnouncementBreaking bad newsDiscussion groupObjective structured clinical examination (OSCE)S-P-w-ICE-S protocol

Identifiers

PMID39267024
PMCPMC11391681

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.