Chapter 6 122 We assessed potential admissions the adjacent business day. After review of eligibility by the researcher, we contacted the responsible nurse to ascertain exclusion criteria. Subsequently, we informed the eligible patients about the study. Surveys were handed out on paper to each participant to collect data, and obtaining informed consent. Surveys were anonymous, we did not collect names, birth dates or other patient-identifiers. At the request of the patient, sometimes the survey was conducted orally. All data was entered manually into Castor electronic data capture system. A second researcher doublechecked 10% for error interception, in which no discrepancies were found. The inclusions of the before-group coincided with the second wave in the Netherlands in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to upscaling of cohort divisions and high risk of infection by cause of immunocompromised status, COVID-19 and hematology patients were not included for a few weeks. Subsequently, we established a protocol to resume inclusions in a safe way. We arranged that the resident or nurse of the corresponding department approached the patient with the survey instead of the researcher. 2.3 Interventions Physicians’ Training Internal Medicine residents were approached through mail to participate in a training program. The program was comprised out of an e-learning module regarding communication on care decisions in conjunction with a hand-on training with simulated patients. The e-learning was established using expert opinions. The e-learning module was developed based on expert opinions and comprised written text and videos to emphasize the significance of the topic. It provided background information, discussed common pitfalls, and offered valuable tips. The module concluded with example cases featuring simulated patients. As for the hands-on training, qualitative analysis of authentic conversations in the outpatient clinics of our hospital was used as input.23 Trainees reflected on commonly used sentences and various strategies in care decision conversations. Afterwards, they practiced care decision conversations with simulated patients. We organized five sessions to maximize attendance from December through February. From that moment on, the training became a permanent part of the introduction program for internal medicine residents at the UMC Utrecht.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw