William Breitbart: Communication skill training for oncology clinicians

William Breitbart, Chairman, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Join us for a unique, two-day interactive training experience hosted by Memorial Sloan Kettering’s pioneering Comskil Training Program and Research Laboratory. This course offers a practical, skills-based approach to enhancing communication in clinical interactions. Through a blend of brief didactic lectures, featuring exemplary videos, and small group experiential role plays, you’ll learn evidence-based strategies for navigating challenging communication scenarios such as:

• Sharing Serious News
• Responding to Patient Anger
• Managing Challenging Family Interactions
• Facilitating Shared Decision-Making
• Discussing Death, Dying, and End-of-Life Care Goals
• Working with an Interpreter

Guided by trained facilitators, you’ll receive personalized feedback to refine your skills and improve your communication skills. Please note that those who are accepted to the program prior to September 1, 2024, will receive $150 off the registration fee.

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MSK Program Director

Patricia A. Parker, PhD Member and Attending Psychologist Director, Communication Skills Training and Research Program (Comskil) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

MSK Program Planners

Smita C. Banerjee, PhD Associate Member and Associate Attending Behavioral Scientist Ivelisse Belardo, LSW Manager, Communication Skills Training and Research Program (Comskil) William S. Breitbart, MD Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Jimmie C. Holland Chair

Billy Rosa, PhD, MBE, APRN, FAANP, FPCN, FAAN Assistant Attending Behavioral Scientist Richard Weiner, ANP-BC Critical Care Nurse Practitioner

MSK Program Faculty

Katie Benn, RN Clinical Nurse Martin Chin, MD Attending Psychiatrist Eileen Collins, RN Clinical Nurse Nessa Coyle, PhD Nurse Practitioner Monique James, MD Assistant Attending Psychiatrist Julia Kearney, MD Associate Attending Pediatric Psychiatrist

Mark Kurzrok, MD Assistant Attending Psychiatrist Alice Luo, MD Assistant Attending Psychiatrist Kelly McConnell, PhD Director, Psycho-Oncology of Cancer and Aging Program; Associate Attending Psychiatrist Shila Pandey, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN Nurse Practitioner Jae Lee Ross, PsyD Assistant Attending Psychologist

This following Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits are available for this program: AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and New York State Psychology Contact Hours. Applications have been submitted for NCPD credits and New York State Social Work Credit.

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Source: William Breitbart/LinkedIn

Dr. William S. Breitbart is a triple board-certified psychiatrist and psycho-oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), specializing in the psychiatric aspects of cancer, including pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, existential distress, symptom control, and supportive care. He supports patients with pancreatic, liver, bile duct, and other gastrointestinal cancers as the psychiatric liaison to the hepatopancreatobiliary disease management team and the Supportive Care Service. He also serves on the Brain Tumor Center faculty.

Dr. Breitbart completed his fellowship at MSK and has held various leadership roles, including Chief of the Psychiatry Service and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He leads the Psychotherapy Laboratory.

Dr. Breitbart developed meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP). He co-founded the American Psycho-Oncology Society (APOS) and the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS), serving as IPOS President. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Cambridge University Press’ journal, Palliative & Supportive Care.