Women docs 'break bad news best'

Good communication skills can be taught

Female doctors are better than their male counterparts at breaking bad news to patients, a study has suggested.

Mock consultations using actors were videotaped by psychologists from the Universities of Coventry, Warwick and Leicester.

They found that male doctors were more likely to deliver the bad news in an abrupt style and include the patient in discussions about treatment.

The study's authors say that more training may be needed in future.

Hospital doctors in the past have received little training in the correct techniques for telling a patient about a serious illness - most of their expertise comes from experience.

It's possible that some male doctors might benefit from a little extra training on this issue Dr Sheila Bonas, University of Leicester

The modern suggestion is that rather than simply delivering the news and telling the patient what treatment would follow - and its likely outcome - the consultation should be "patient-centred".

This means that there should be full opportunity for the patient to discuss fears and concerns.

It has always been suspected that women typically have a more "empathic" approach - which is better suited to this kind of consultation, while many men are more likely to want to "stick to the facts".

Video appointment

The research, presented at the British Psychological Society's conference, backs this up.

The verbal behaviour and body language of 32 male and 12 female doctors taking part in videotaped mock consultations was examined by psychologists.

The research suggested that women doctors had "superior communication skills".

Sheila Bonas, from the University of Leicester, told BBC News Online that even with a relatively small number of interviews, the differences were significant.

She said: "We did not find that every female doctor had better communication skills than every male doctor, and we wouldn't like to suggest this.

"However, it's possible that some male doctors might benefit from a little extra training on this issue."

She said that some patients actually preferred the more abrupt style of consultation - but that a modern doctor should be able to spot this and make the necessary adjustments to his or her approach.