Breaking the Bad News of Death in Hospital

Abstract

Breaking the news of death of their loved one to the family members and relatives is a highly stressful job for the treating physician which needs special skill. Each and every bereaved relative perceives the sudden death of his loved one as ‘untimely’ and ‘unfair’. A plan of action including the nonverbal communication while breaking the sad news has been elaborated here. The points mentioned herein are just broad guidelines which may be followed and may not be considered as a protocol. Some form of formal training in the form of a workshop should be given due consideration so as to impart some formal training to the physician making them better equipped in coping with this sensitive and extremely important but neglected and researched aspect of medical science.

Keywords: Breaking the bad news, communication of death, death in hospital, nonverbal communication, communication skills

Cite this Article

Gurmeet Singh Sarla. Breaking the Bad News of Death in Hospital. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Health Professions. 2020; 10(1): 19–22p.