Breaking bad and difficult news in obstetric ultrasound and sonographer burnout: Is training helpful?

Background: Sonographers report high levels of burnout. For those working in obstetric ultrasound, one frequently cited stressor is the delivery of bad or difficult news. Training in news delivery may reduce sonographer stress levels, but no studies have investigated sonographer experiences of this training.

Aims: To investigate sonographer experiences of difficult news delivery training and preferences for training techniques, and to assess whether news delivery training is associated with lower burnout and higher wellbeing.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey measured occupational characteristics, news delivery training experiences and preferences, burnout (on two dimensions of exhaustion and disengagement), and general mental wellbeing.

Results: Ninety sonographers (85 female; mean age = 47) responded. The majority of participants thought training in difficult news delivery had improved their practice. Preferred training techniques were observation of clinical practice and receiving service-user input. Eighty per cent of participants were experiencing exhaustion, 43.3% were experiencing disengagement and 88.9% could be classed as having a minor psychiatric disorder. Having received difficult news delivery training was associated with lower levels of disengagement, even when other variables were controlled for.

Discussion: News delivery training is perceived to be effective by sonographers and may help to reduce sonographer burnout levels.