Breaking Bad News seems to be the toughest job a professional finds

1. Ms Nisha Mathew

2. It is AS difficult for a person
to convey the bad news, as a
person who listens it

3. What is Bad News?......
Any information which adversely and seriously
affects an individual's view of his or her future;
whether news is bad or not can only be in the
eye of the beholder.

4. Like?.....
A Health condition that can be
physical as well as mental disorder.
o Diagnosis of a terminal illness like Cancer, AIDS.
o Mental disorder : Downs syndrome
o Degenerative disorder: Alzheimer's disease

5. How to break the Bad News!!!
S-P-I-K-E-S

6. Not that one But SPIKES
means
 S- Setting Up
 P- Perception
 I- Invitation
 K- Knowledge
 E- Empathy
 S- Strategize & summarize

7. Setting
 Arrange for a private setting
 Involve Significant others
 Sit down
 Communicate that you are listening, using silence and
repetition
 Remain available for the duration of the meeting

8. Perception
 Identify what the patient & family understand
 Use the same vocabulary that they do

9. Invitation
 Obtain permission for the depth & breadth of
information

10. Knowledge
 Provide warning that Bad News is going to be shared
 Avoid technical language
 Give the information in small chunks
 Tailor the rate at which information is shared

11. Empathy
 Listen for and identify the emotion (or mix of
emotions)
 Identify the source or cause of the emotion.

13. Strategy & Summary
 Check for
Understanding
 Summarize the
discussion
 Reiterate the pain

14. Bibliography
Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing,
Brunner & Suddarth, Twelfth edition ,
Volume-1 , page No- 405