TY - JOUR
T1 - What keeps you up at night? Genetics professionals' distressing experiences in patient care
AU - Bernhardt, Barbara A.
AU - Silver, Rachel
AU - Rushton, Cynda Hylton
AU - Micco, Ellyn
AU - Geller, Gail
PY - 2010/5
Y1 - 2010/5
N2 - PURPOSE: To explore specific patient care experiences that genetics professionals associate with distress and the emotions engendered by those experiences. METHODS: We conducted semistructured telephone interviews with clinical geneticists, genetic counselors, and genetic nurses that focused on a single distressing experience. RESULTS: Fourteen clinical geneticists, 25 genetic counselors, and 14 nurses were interviewed. We categorized the situations that interviewees associated with distressing patient care experiences into seven major types: patient/family decisions (27% of total situations), giving bad news (17%), colleague behavior (15%), end-of-life issues (12%), unintended outcomes (12%), difficult patients (8%), and injustice/inhumanity (8%). Interviewees reported experiencing a variety of negative emotions during these situations, including anger, guilt, helplessness, and inadequacy. CONCLUSIONS: The distress and resulting emotions experienced by genetic service providers must be acknowledged. Interventions are needed to assist the clinician in becoming self-aware by reflecting on experienced emotions, examining belief systems and values, and understanding the connection between their emotions and behavior. Involvement in mindfulness meditation, reflective writing, peer support groups or additional communication skill-based training could address this need. In addition, clinicians should seek ways to increase personal meaning derived from providing patient care.
AB - PURPOSE: To explore specific patient care experiences that genetics professionals associate with distress and the emotions engendered by those experiences. METHODS: We conducted semistructured telephone interviews with clinical geneticists, genetic counselors, and genetic nurses that focused on a single distressing experience. RESULTS: Fourteen clinical geneticists, 25 genetic counselors, and 14 nurses were interviewed. We categorized the situations that interviewees associated with distressing patient care experiences into seven major types: patient/family decisions (27% of total situations), giving bad news (17%), colleague behavior (15%), end-of-life issues (12%), unintended outcomes (12%), difficult patients (8%), and injustice/inhumanity (8%). Interviewees reported experiencing a variety of negative emotions during these situations, including anger, guilt, helplessness, and inadequacy. CONCLUSIONS: The distress and resulting emotions experienced by genetic service providers must be acknowledged. Interventions are needed to assist the clinician in becoming self-aware by reflecting on experienced emotions, examining belief systems and values, and understanding the connection between their emotions and behavior. Involvement in mindfulness meditation, reflective writing, peer support groups or additional communication skill-based training could address this need. In addition, clinicians should seek ways to increase personal meaning derived from providing patient care.
KW - Burnout
KW - Countertransference
KW - Distress
KW - Genetic service providers
KW - Training
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77952543061&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77952543061&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/GIM.0b013e3181db82d9
DO - 10.1097/GIM.0b013e3181db82d9
M3 - Article
C2 - 20386316
AN - SCOPUS:77952543061
SN - 1098-3600
VL - 12
SP - 289
EP - 297
JO - Genetics in Medicine
JF - Genetics in Medicine
IS - 5
ER -