Clinicians: Learning to break the bad news

Telling the patient and the family the bad news -- it's a daunting first-time experience for physicians and a staple of television medical dramas. But in real life, how do medical/health professionals learn to communicate a less than positive diagnosis or prognosis of an illness or -- even worse -- the death of a loved one? Recent studies in teaching approaches have been explored that seek to improve the necessary communications skills in breaking bad news.