Thank you for your participation in the session today – a rather serious and difficult task.


Scenario was of a 14 year old who is diagnosed as brain dead following a severe Road Traffic Accident.
Task was to speak with parents to update them of clinical diagnosis and ask for organ donation.

Anil Garg was role player. Dr D took the hotseat first and following feedback and general advice Dr S took the hotseat again.The task proved difficult but both candidates made a good attempt.

The learning points are:

  • Bad news – be blunt and mention it AND then keep quiet for information to sink in.
  • Do NOT speak till the role player comes back with a response – a query or exclamation – are you sure!!
  • Respond then as appropriate.
  • EMPATHY is a much talked word – practice it and also LOOK the role
  • Body language is VERY important more so on line.
  • It is important to mention ‘the task’ in first 2 minutes but be aware of CONTEXT.
  • All communication is context related
  • Speak slowly and USE pause / Silence to emphasize information you are giving
  • Bad news – we give bad news everyday – hence practice to improve our style

Add your comments or any points I may have missed.
Anil Garg