***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: There is today a wide consensus regarding the need to improve communication skills ( CS ) of health-care professionals ( HCPs ) dealing with cancer patients .  Psychological training programs ( PTPs ) may be useful to acquire the needed CS . Testing the efficacy of PTP will allow to define their optimal content . The present study was design ed to assess the impact of a PTP on HCP stress , attitudes and CS , and on HCP and patients ' satisfaction with HCP communication skills in a r and omised study . A total of 115 oncology nurses were r and omly assigned to a 105-h PTP or to a waiting list .  Stress was assessed with the Nursing Stress Scale , attitudes with a Semantic Differential Question naire , CS used during one simulated and one actual patient interview with the Cancer Research Campaign Workshop Evaluation Manual , and satisfaction with the nurses ' CS with a question naire completed by the patients and the nurses . Trained ( TG ) and control ( CG ) groups were compared at baseline , after 3 months ( just following training for TG ) and after 6 months ( 3 months after the end of training for TG ) . Compared to controls , trained nurses reported positive changes on their stress levels ( P⩽0.05 ) and on their attitudes ( P⩽0.05 ) . Positive training effects were found on CS used during the simulated interview : a significant increase in facilitative behaviours ( open questions : P⩽0.001 ; evaluative functions : P⩽0.05 ) and a significant decrease in inhibitory behaviours ( inappropriate information : P⩽0.01 ; false reassurance : P⩽0.05 ) . Less positive training effects were found regarding interviews with a cancer patient : a significant increase in educated guesses ( P⩽0.001 ) was noticed . No training effect was observed on nurses ' satisfaction levels , but a positive training effect was found on patients ' satisfaction levels ( P⩽0.01 ) . Although results outline PTP efficacy , they indicate the need to design PTP , amplifying the transfer of learned CS to clinical practice PURPOSE We wanted to assess the effectiveness of intensive education for physicians  compared with a traditional session on communicating with breast cancer patients . METHODS A r and omized controlled trial was conducted in practice s in London , Hamilton , and Toronto , Canada , with 17 family physicians , 16 surgeons , and 18 oncologists , and with 102 patients of the surgeons and oncologists . Doctors were r and omized to 1 of 2 continuing education approaches : a traditional 2-hour version ( control group ) , or a new 6-hour intensive version including exploring the patients ’ perspectives and review ing videotapes and receiving feedback ( intervention group ) . Communication behavior of the physicians was measured objective ly both before and after the intervention . As well , 4 postintervention patient outcomes were measured , by design only for surgeons and oncologists : patient-centerdness of the visit , satisfaction , psychological distress , and feeling better . RESULTS No significant differences were found on the communication score of the intervention vs the control physicians when controlling for preintervention communication scores . Intervention family physicians , however , had significantly higher communication subscores than control family physicians . Also , patients of the intervention surgeons and oncologists were significantly more satisfied ( scores of 82.06 vs 77.78 , P = .03 ) and felt better ( 88.2 % vs 70.6 % , P=.02 ) than patients of the control surgeons and oncologists when controlling for covariates and adjusting for clustering within doctor . CONCLUSIONS The continuing medical education intervention was effective in terms of some but not all physician and patient outcomes BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Optimizing communication between radiotherapy team members and patients and between colleagues requires training . This study applies a r and omized controlled design to assess the efficacy of a 38-h communication skills training program . MATERIAL AND METHODS Four radiotherapy teams were r and omly assigned either to a training program or to a waiting list . Team members ' communication skills and their self-efficacy to communicate in the context of an encounter with a simulated patient were the primary endpoints . These encounters were scheduled at the baseline and after training for the training group , and at the baseline and four months later for the waiting list group . Encounters were audiotaped and transcribed . Transcripts were analyzed with content analysis software ( LaComm ) and by an independent rater . RESULTS Eighty team members were included in the study . Compared to untrained team members , trained team members used more turns of speech with content oriented toward available re sources in the team ( relative rate [RR]=1.38 ; p=0.023 ) , more assessment utterances ( RR=1.69 ; p<0.001 ) , more empathy ( RR=4.05 ; p=0.037 ) , more negotiation ( RR=2.34 ; p=0.021 ) and more emotional words ( RR=1.32 ; p=0.030 ) , and their self-efficacy to communicate increased ( p=0.024 and p=0.008 , respectively ) . CONCLUSIONS The training program was effective in improving team members ' communication skills and their self-efficacy to communicate in the context of an encounter with a simulated patient . Future study should assess the effect of this training program on communication with actual patients and their satisfaction . Moreover a cost-benefit analysis is needed , before implementing such an intensive training program on a broader scale BACKGROUND Informed consent is required for both st and ard cancer treatments and experimental cancer treatments in a clinical trial . Effective and sensitive physician-patient communication about informed consent is difficult to achieve . Our aim was to train doctors in clear , collaborative and ethical communication about informed consent and evaluate the impact of training on doctor behaviour , stress and satisfaction . PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS Participants were 21 oncologists from 10 Australian/New Zeal and ( ANZ ) centres and 41 oncologists from 10 Swiss/German/Austrian ( SGA ) centres . Oncologists were r and omized to participate in a 1-day workshop or not .  Patients were recruited before and after the training . Doctors were asked to su bmi t 1 - 2 audiotaped consultations before and after training . Doctors completed outcome measures before and after completing the post-training cohort recruitment . RESULTS Ninety-five consultation interactions were audiotaped . Doctors strongly endorsed the training . ANZ intervention doctors demonstrated a significant increase in collaborative communication ( P = 0.03 ) . There was no effect of training on other doctor behaviours .  Trained doctors did not demonstrate reduced stress and burnout . Patient outcomes are presented elsewhere . CONCLUSIONS Training can improve some aspects of the process of obtaining informed consent . Methods to increase the impact of training are required and may include longer training and more intensive follow-up Abstract Objective To evaluate a training intervention aim ed at improving healthcare professionals ' communication with cancer patients about r and omised clinical trials . Design Before and after evaluation of training programme . Setting Members of the National Cancer Research Network , Scottish Trials Network , and the Welsh Cancer Trials Network Participants 101 healthcare professionals ( 33 clinicians and 68 research nurses ) . Intervention Four modules delivered by a trained facilitator using videotapes and interactive exercises to cover general issues about discussing r and omised clinical trials with patients , problems specific to adjuvant trials , trials with palliation as the goal , and trials where patients had a strong preference for one treatment arm . Main outcome measures Before and after the intervention , participants were videotaped discussing a trial with an actor portraying a patient . These consultations were assessed for presence of information required by good clinical practice guidelines . The actor patients gave an assessment after each interview . Participants reported their self confidence about key aspects of trial discussion . Results Analysis of the videotaped consultations showed that , after intervention , significantly more participants displayed key communication behaviours such as explaining r and omisation ( 69 v 81 , odds ratio 2.33 , P = 0.033 ) , checking patients ' underst and ing ( 11 v 31 , odds ratio 3.22 , P = 0.002 ) , and discussing st and ard treatment ( 73 v 88 , odds ratio 4.75 , P = 0.005 ) and side effects ( 69 v 85 , odds ratio 3.29 , P = 0.006 ) . Participants ' self confidence increased significantly ( P < 0.001 ) across all areas . Actor patients ' ratings of participants ' communication showed significant improvements for 12/15 key items . Conclusion This intensive 8 hour intervention significantly improved participants ' confidence and competence when communicating about r and omised clinical trials BACKGROUND A r and omized study was performed to investigate whether a communication skill ( CS ) training program can improve  nurse 's ability to detect the distress  of patients who have just been informed of cancer diagnosis . METHODS Nurses were r and omly assigned to the experimental or control group , and those in the former group had undergone CS training program . Nurses in both groups were then requested to support patients informed of their cancer diagnosis . Intervention consisted of one-on-one nurse interviews 3 times ( on the day , 1 week , and 1 month after diagnosis ) . Patient 's self-reported distress according to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and nurse 's ratings of patient distress by Visual Analog Scale were assessed 3 times ( 1 week , 1 month , and 3 months after diagnosis ) . These two scales were compared between the nurses of the two groups to assess the impact of CS training . RESULTS The nurses in the experimental and control groups supported 42 and 47 patients , respectively . The analysis using mixed-effects modeling revealed no significant differences in the nurse 's ability to detect patient 's distress between the two groups . However , when the nurse 's ratings of patient 's distress and patient 's self-reported distress were compared , these two scores were significantly correlated only with the nurses in the experimental group , suggesting that the nurse 's ability to become aware of patient 's distress had been improved in that group . CONCLUSIONS CS training for health professionals is useful in oncology practice to improve  nurse 's ability to recognize the distress of patients diagnosed with cancer Purpose Effective communication is needed for optimal cancer pain management . This study assessed the efficacy of a general communication skills training program for oncology nurses on communication about pain management . Methods A total of 115 nurses were r and omly assigned to a training group ( TG ) or control group ( CG ) . The assessment included the recording of interviews with a simulated cancer patient at baseline for both groups and after training ( TG ) or 3 months after baseline ( CG ) . Two psychologists rated the content of interview transcripts to assess cancer pain management communication . Group-by-time effects were measured using a generalized estimating equation . Results Trained nurses asked the simulated patient more questions about emotions associated with pain ( relative rate [ RR ] = 4.28 , p = 0.049 ) and cognitions associated with pain treatment ( RR = 3.23 , p < 0.001 ) and used less paternalistic statements about cancer pain management ( RR = 0.40 , p = 0.006 ) compared with untrained nurses . Conclusions The general communication skills training program improved only a few of the communication strategies needed for optimal cancer pain management in nursing . General communication skills training programs should be consoli date d using specific modules focusing on communication skills related to cancer pain management PURPOSE The aim of the study was to demonstrate that COM-ON-p , concise and individualized communication skills training ( CST ) , improves oncologists ' communication skills in consultations focusing on the transition to palliative care . METHODS Forty-one physicians were r and omly assigned to a control ( CG ) or intervention group ( IG ) . At t(0 ) , all physicians held two video-recorded consultations with actor-patient pairs . Afterward , physicians in the IG participated in COM-ON-p . Five weeks after t(0 ) , a second assessment took place ( t(1 ) ) . COM-ON-p consists of an 11-hour workshop ( 1.5 days ) , pre- and post assessment ( 2 hours ) , and coaching ( 0.5 hours ) . Physicians focused on practicing individual learning goals with actor patients in small groups . To evaluate the training , blinded raters assessed communication behavior of the physicians in video-recorded actor-patient consultations using a specific checklist . Data were analyzed using a mixed model with baseline levels as covariates . RESULTS Participants in the IG improved significantly more than those in the CG in all three sections of the COM-ON-Checklist : skills specific to the transition to palliative care , global communication skills , and involvement of significant others ( all P < .01 ) . Differences between the CG and IG on the global items of communication skills and involvement of significant others were also significant ( P < .01 ) . Effect sizes were medium to large , with a 0.5-point improvement on average on a five-point rating scale . CONCLUSION Physicians can be trained to meet better core challenges during the transition to palliative care through developed concise CST . Generalization and transfer into clinical practice must be proven in additional studies The efficacy of a communication skills training programme was shown through a r and omised trial . Oncologists ( N=160 ) from 34 cancer centres were allocated to written feedback plus course ; course alone ; written feedback alone or control .  Each clinician had 6 – 10 interviews  with patients videotaped at baseline and 3 months postintervention . Analysis of videotapes revealed improvements in the communication skills of clinicians r and omised to training ( n=80 ) compared with others ( n=80 ) . A 12-month follow-up assessment is reported here . Robust Poisson conditional analyses of counts of changes in communication behaviours revealed no demonstrable attrition in those who had shown improvement previously , including fewer leading questions , appropriate use of focused and open-ended questions and responses to patient cues . Additional skills , not apparent at 3 months , were now evident ; the estimated effect sizes 
    Output:
    
Conclusions Measuring the effects of training programmes aim ed at improving health care professionals ’ communication skills presents considerable challenges .