Dr. Smita C. Banerjee
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Communication Skills Training for Oncology Professionals: A Focus on Special Populations
Effective communication is essential for the optimal delivery of healthcare services.  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has developed an evidence-based, robust program in communication skills training with a mission "to work in partnership with clinicians of all disciplines to improve communication with cancer patients and their families, and thus enhance overall adaptation to the illness."  Recognizing clinical challenges and developing healthcare provider-focused communication skills training to improve patient outcomes highlights the thematic similarity of my research in this area.  My presentation will include an overview of communication skills training for different oncology clinicians, followed by a focus on training clinicians caring for special populations, i.e., older adults with cancer, LGBTQ patients, and patients with limited English proficiency.  Finally, I will briefly present adaptation of communication skills training to address two types of challenging patient scenarios: using empathetic communication to reduce lung cancer patients' experience of stigma and shared decision making to inquire about, assess, and provide management of sexual health concerns of female oncology patients.