Telehealth Training Using Professional Actors

The Orsini Way, a healthcare communications training company, has launched a telehealth communication training program. Based on the popular Breaking Bad News program that has trained thousands of healthcare providers over the past 10 years, the telehealth version is designed to teach medical professionals how to communicate more compassionately and effectively when using telehealth solutions. The training occurs via video conferencing, where professional improvisational actors play patients to simulate real-life scenarios for medical professionals. Immediately following the role-playing, the physicians and nurses review their recorded video sessions and receive coaching from certified instructors.

“Medical school doesn’t prepare you to tell someone over telehealth that their loved one is dying,” said Dr. Anthony Orsini, practicing neonatologist and founder and president of The Orsini Way. “Our program simulates the emotions these conversations invoke and allows doctors to receive critical feedback to improve interactions with patients and their families. The pandemic is changing the vehicle medical professionals use to communicate with patients, so we developed a training program to make sure physicians and nurses are effectively prepared.”

Englewood Health, a leading hospital and health care system in New Jersey, is the first health system to participate in the new training program and turned to The Orsini Way after the pandemic forced the health system to rely heavily on virtual communication platforms.

The Orsini Way also recently launched interactive and virtual learning modules for individual practitioners to utilize. The modules are designed to teach medical professionals how to communicate and build trusting relationships with patients.