Serious Illness Conversation Training

This interactive training program addresses a critical need for clinicians aiming to enhance their communication skills with patients facing serious illness. The program incorporates the Serious Illness Conversation Guide (SICG) to facilitate 'Goals of Care' (GOC) discussions within clinical practice. Throughout the training, clinicians acquire the skills necessary to develop personalized care plans for patients and their families dealing with serious illness.

Additionally, the program features EmpathyAI, an innovative tool that leverages artificial intelligence and natural language processing to help clinicians practice delivering more comprehensive and empathetic responses during challenging conversations about serious illness. Clinicians can engage with this tool at their convenience, eliminating the constraints of in-person training. This training initiative provides a safe learning environment, enabling clinicians to better prepare for difficult conversations.

In 2024 alone, Providence caregivers documented over 8,500 GOC conversations for critical care patients in the electronic health record-a more than 1,100% increase since 2017. Across all acute care hospitals, Providence caregivers documented over 100,000 GOC conversations last year, with 27% of all non-obstetric adult admissions in 2024 including a documented conversation-up from just 2% in 2017. Behind each of these numbers is a patient and family better supported in making informed decisions that reflect their values, goals, and preferences.

See the full details, published in the NEJM Catalyst here.