Seminar in Unwavering Empowering Presence Optimized for Rehabilitation Teams

Seminar in Unwavering Empowering Presence Optimized for Rehabilitation Teams

The goal of this study to test the feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact of a serious illness communication skills training (CST) tailored to rehabilitation professionals to improve their comfort and confidence in navigating difficult conversations with patients and families.

Primary Objectives:

Aim 1: To assess feasibility and acceptability of a multidisciplinary co-designed interactive CST program for rehabilitation professionals who care for children with serious illness and their families.

Aim 2: To characterize the potential impact of this CST intervention on pediatric rehabilitation professionals.

Secondary Objective:

Aim 3: To examine the perspectives of bereaved parent educators on participation in the implementation of communication training for rehabilitation professionals.

The Communication Skills training (CST) will last approximately 3 hours. It will consist of three main components: Part 1 will begin with an introductory case of an emotional parent, then a brief didactic with a framework on responding to emotion, and end with rehab professionals actively practicing 'drills' using the framework for responding to emotion. Part 2 will be a panel of bereaved parents. Learners will be asked to think of questions to ask the parents in advance and will also be invited to ask questions that come to mind in the moment. Part 3 will be focused on sharing serious news, beginning with an introductory case of sharing cancer progression, followed by didactic teaching in a VitalTalk framework, 'REMAP,' for sharing serious news and eliciting goals/values. Leaders will then introduce role-play via a demonstration case. Next, learners will be divided into small groups for discussion and role-play, with a strong emphasis on principles of psychological safety and learner autonomy. and incorporates didactic instruction, experiential learning, and involvement of bereaved parent educators.

Demographic information will be collected for participating bereaved parent educators and rehabilitation professionals. Rehabilitation professionals will complete pre-intervention self-assessment surveys immediately prior to the educational intervention. Post-intervention self-assessment surveys will be administered immediately after completion of the intervention and 3-months post-intervention to assess for retention. Rehabilitation professionals and bereaved parent educators will also be interviewed about their experience following the intervention. The interviews will be done on an individual basis either virtually or in-person.

Inclusion Criteria: Intervention Participants

• Licensed rehabilitation professionals (e.g., physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists) employed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital actively involved in the care of pediatric oncology patients.
• Willingness to participate in the communication skills training (CST) intervention and associated study activities.

Inclusion Criteria: Intervention Facilitators

• St. Jude Bereaved Parent Educators who have participated as an educator in at least one other institutional educational event
• Willingness to facilitate the communication skills training (CST) intervention and complete associated study activities.

Exclusion Criteria: Intervention Participants

• Non-rehabilitation professionals
• Individuals unable to attend the CST intervention session.

Exclusion Criteria: Intervention Facilitators

• Individuals unable to attend the CST intervention session.