Preparing prelicensure and graduate nursing students to systematically communicate bad news to patients and families.

Communicating bad news, otherwise known as difficult conversations, is a complex communication skill that requires didactic learning and practical application. Students learn that what may be interpreted as bad news is determined by the recipient and not by the person who is delivering the news. Learning a systematic approach, such as the SPIKES (Setting, Perception, Invitation, Knowledge, Empathy, Strategy/Summary) mnemonic, prepares prelicensure and graduate nursing students for difficult conversations with patients and families in the clinical setting. Role-playing commonly includes clinical scenarios, and using video recording and playback of the encounters in such scenarios is one method of learning the systematic approach to communicating bad news. Follow-up practice after application in the clinical setting and feedback from faculty and mentors are essential for nursing students to achieve competence in this complex set of communication skills.