RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Aligning expectations during the informed consent process before a child's surgery is an important element of good communication that benefits both surgical staff and families. We developed and evaluated a 2-hour pilot interprofessional workshop to improve the communication and relational skills of pediatric surgeons and nurse practitioners. METHODS: Focus groups with families identified key challenges in the process of informed consent. An interprofessional team, including parents whose children had experienced complex surgeries, developed the workshop collaboratively. A realistic simulation with professional actors portraying parents allowed surgical staff to practice communication skills and receive feedback about the parent perspective. Participants completed a postworkshop evaluation to determine whether the workshop met its objectives and whether they would change practice. RESULTS: Five key themes identified for the workshop included customize communication; align expectations; share clinical uncertainty; recognize/attend to emotions; and identify team members. Thirty-five clinicians participated in a workshop, and 89% completed evaluations. Three-quarters reported the learning to be valuable, and 64% were likely to change practice. Eighty-seven percent would recommend the workshop to other colleagues, and 58 to 74% felt more prepared to achieve each of eight specific skills. DISCUSSION: An innovative workshop for pediatric surgical practitioners to align family-clinician expectations can help improve clinician communication skills and comfort with informed consent. Keys to workshop development included involving parents to identify themes and participate as workshop co-faculty; enlisting leadership and recruiting surgical champions; and using pre-existing meetings to ease scheduling challenges of busy practitioners. Booster sessions may facilitate the desired cultural changes.
