Educating doctors about breaking bad news: an Iranian perspective.

BACKGROUND

The breaking of bad news is a frequent and well recognized task that is performed by a variety of health professionals including medical doctors. In this article, we explore both how this topic is dealt with in medical education in Iran and also consider how this aspect of the curriculum might be enriched in the future.

METHODS

This article is based on research, which was undertaken using a purposively selected sample of medical course planners in Iran. Semistructured interviews were conducted with each of 10 carefully selected participants. Their interview responses were analyzed in such a way as to provide an in-depth exploration and interpretation of both their perceptions and experiences in relation to this sensitive and highly important topic.

RESULTS

Four major themes emerged from the analysis of the interview transcripts: medical paternalism, religion, training issues, and professional barriers.

CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of this analysis, there appears to be an urgent need for integrating more emphasis on techniques for breaking bad news into the Iranian medical education curriculum. This curriculum could in the future place more emphasis on addressing specific religious issues, which are unique to the local culture. A number of other specific recommendations are formulated and discussed.