Teaching perspectives on the communication of difficult news of genetic conditions to medical students

Ashley M Vanasse; Tracey Weiler; Elizabeth A Roth; Sharmila Upadhya; Helga V Toriello; Ariel J VanLeuven; John R Norris; John C Carey; Andrew K Sobering

doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.63003

Teaching perspectives on the communication of difficult news of genetic conditions to medical students

Am J Med Genet A. 2023 Jan;191(1):299-305. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.63003. Epub 2022 Oct 26.

Authors

Ashley M Vanasse^{1

2}, Tracey Weiler³, Elizabeth A Roth⁴, Sharmila Upadhya¹, Helga V Toriello⁵, Ariel J VanLeuven^{4

6}, John R Norris⁴, John C Carey⁷, Andrew K Sobering^{1

4

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry, St. George's University, St. George's, Grenada.
² Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
³ Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA.
⁴ AU/UGA Medical Partnership Campus of the Medical College of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, Michigan State University - College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
⁶ Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, USA.
⁷ Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
⁸ Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation, True Blue, St. George's, Grenada.

Abstract

Informing parents that their child has a diagnosis of Down syndrome (DS) is a common example of the delivery of unexpected or difficult news. Expectations and life planning will change, and if detected prenatally, discussions might include the option of pregnancy termination. Medical school curricula currently include training in breaking unexpected news; however, it is difficult to teach and assess. We use the perspectives of clinicians, educators, and a medical student who is the parent of a child with DS to frame a discussion on teaching, practicing, and assessing communication of difficult news in human genetics during medical school.

Keywords: assessment; communication; difficult news; genetics education; unexpected news.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Child
Communication
Curriculum
Humans
Physician-Patient Relations
Students, Medical*
Truth Disclosure