Breaking the Bad News and End of Life Care (17 November 2020)

Breaking bad news and end of life care treatment is one of a physician's most difficult duties, yet medical education typically offers little formal preparation for this daunting task. Breaking bad news (BBN) to patients and their relatives is a complex and stressful task. Without proper training, the discomfort and uncertainty associated with breaking bad news may lead physicians to emotionally disengage from patients. Focused training in communication skills and techniques to facilitate breaking bad news has been demonstrated to improve patient satisfaction and physician comfort. The hectic pace of clinical practice may force a physician to deliver bad news with little forewarning or when other responsibilities are competing for the physician's attention.

Realising its importance and educating its students according to international standards MMC General Hospital Peshawar, an affiliated teaching hospital of Kabir Medical College and Sardar Dental College Peshawar organised one day workshop. The Chief Guest of the event was Mr. Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Secretary Education, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The occasion was also graced by well-known industrialist Mr. Maqsood Anwar, Chairman MMC General Hospital Peshawar.  The course director Dr. Jibran Umar Ayub Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine in collaboration with Dr. Azhar Shah, Associate Professor of Surgery, Kabir Medical College facilitated the sessions. Additional faculty included Associate Professor Dr. Saira Afridi from Sardar Begum Dental College Peshawar and Dr. Zahid Khan, Assistant Professor Neurosurgery from Naseer Teaching Hospital Peshawar.

There were excellent talks on breaking the bad news and end of life treatment by Ms. Shireen Nizam and Ms. Nashwa Khan respectively, both students of Sardar Begum Dental College Peshawar. They conveyed their messages very strongly by role plays and simulations. There was lot of applause from the audience. Speaking on the occasion Dr. Azhar Shah appreciated the hard-work and dynamic leadership of Dr. Jibran Ayub and also emphasised that it’s the team work which matter the most. He also shared his views on essence of sound communication skills and following its principles in our setup. He also stressed on role of empathy in managing terminally ill patients. Dr. Jibran Ayub insisted on the need for having dedicated doctors for addressing the social concerns of the patients and not to be judgmental when it comes to patients care. He reiterated that principles of autonomy, altruism and justice should be kept in mind while managing emotional charged relatives.

Dr. Saira Afridi, the QEC lead for Gandhara University shared her views and appreciated the administrative support of MMC General Hospital Chairman Mr. Maqsood Anwar. Mr. Maqsood appreciated the hard work of students and called them shining stars of future. He advised them to dream big and shared his experience of strenuous efforts he made for making the state of art hospital for people of Peshawar.

The highlight of the event and the Chief Guest of event Mr. Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry shared his detailed thoughts on breaking the bad news. He also shared his personal experience of being in similar situation himself. He also expressed the need for having hospice centres and palliative care teams in our setup to serve the ailing humanity. He advised the students to dream big and turn them into hard work and dedication. He specially thanked Dr. Jibran Umar Ayub for inviting him and did say that relationships matter the most.

In the end the honourable Chief Guest distributed shields and certificates among the students and organisers of the event.  The event ended with a vote of thanks.