Decision making at extreme prematurity: Innovation in clinician education

Decision-making at extreme prematurity remains ethically and practically challenging and can result in parental and clinician distress. It is vital that clinicians learn the necessary skills integral to counseling and decision-making with families in these situations. A pedagogical approach to teaching counseling should incorporate adult learning theory, emphasize multidisciplinary team in-situ simulation that links to counseling clinicians' daily practice, and includes critical reflection, debriefing, and program assessment. Multiple educational strategies that train clinicians in advanced communication and decision-making offer promising results to optimize antenatal counseling and shared decision-making for families facing possible delivery at extreme prematurity. Continued process evaluation and innovation in these educational domains are needed while also assessing the effect on patient-centered outcomes. (c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Decision-making at extreme prematurity presents challenges and distress for parents and clinicians. Clinicians need to learn necessary skills for counseling and decision-making in these situations. Educational strategies that incorporate adult learning theory, multidisciplinary team simulation, and critical reflection show promising results in optimizing antenatal counseling and shared decision-making for families facing extreme prematurity.