Communication and collaboration skills training in Radiation Oncology in Australia and New Zealand: A qualitative study

David C Levy; Diana Naehrig; Lisa Sullivan; Yaw S Chin

doi:10.1111/ajco.13736

Communication and collaboration skills training in Radiation Oncology in Australia and New Zealand: A qualitative study

Asia Pac J Clin Oncol. 2022 Oct;18(5):e356-e362. doi: 10.1111/ajco.13736. Epub 2022 Jan 18.

Authors

David C Levy¹, Diana Naehrig^{2

3}, Lisa Sullivan^{4

5

6}, Yaw S Chin^{7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine & Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
² Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³ Diana Naehrig Coaching & Communication, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ The Canberra Hospital, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
⁵ Icon Cancer Centre, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
⁶ School of Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
⁷ Department of Radiation Oncology, St. George Hospital, Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia.
⁸ St. George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁹ Faculty of Radiation Oncology, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 35043566
DOI: 10.1111/ajco.13736

Abstract

Purpose: Effective communication and collaboration with patients, carers and between healthcare professionals improves patient management. This study aimed to explore essential communication and collaboration skills training (CCST) for a radiation oncologist (RO) to inform competencies, learning outcomes and enhance curriculum training methods.

Materials and methods: Eight focus group discussions with 10 fellows and 14 trainees of the Faculty of Radiation Oncology, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (FRO RANZCR) were conducted face to face between October 2018 and March 2019. Participants included doctors from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, working in public and private, metropolitan, and rural sectors. Data were recorded, transcribed verbatim, managed in Excel, and coded using a qualitative content analysis framework. The study was approved by South Eastern Sydney Local Health District HREC (18/186). Participants provided informed written consent.

Results: After achieving thematic saturation, four predominant themes emerged. These were as follows: (1) Enablers and barriers to effective communication and collaboration; (2) written communication; (3) communicating bad news; and (4) multidisciplinary team meeting collaboration. Managing uncertainty and workplace culture emerged as interconnected sub-themes.

Conclusions: There is a current lack of CCST in radiation oncology in Australia and New Zealand. The most common theme that emerged to improve CCST focused on increasing the exposure to a variety of communication and collaboration clinical scenarios, which are observed and upon which immediate structured feedback is given. Consultants and trainees offered tangible suggestions on how to improve the curriculum. These findings underscore the importance of using a combination of structured teaching methods and work-based assessments. CCST templates are recommended.

Keywords: barriers and enablers; communication and collaboration; communication skills training; radiation oncology; trainee and consultant.

MeSH terms

Australia
Communication
Humans
New Zealand
Qualitative Research
Radiation Oncology* / education