Objective: Breaking bad news (BBN) has a big influence in patients' lives, but still a lot of health care providers struggle when doing it with efficiency and empathy. Methods: This study is a prospective cohort that evaluated the knowledge and the evolution of fifth year medical students in breaking bad news, and investigated which factors had a positive or negative influence on their scores. Two simulations were conducted during the year in the model of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), the students' scores were acquired through a checklist based on the SPIKES protocol. Posteriorly, an online questionnaire was filled by the students, containing objective and open questions relevant to the BBN scenario. Results: Participated in this study 85 undergraduates, in the first OSCE 52% (n = 44) scored above the minimum institutional average, in the second OSCE 59% (n = 50) scored above the minimum institutional average. Comparing both activities there were isolated differences between isolated items at the checklist, but without statistical significance. The factor that had a positive influence for scoring higher was having previous experience in BBN, during the second OSCE the group that had experience scored an average of 3,11 points, the other group had an average of 2,57 only (p = 0,012). Conclusion: The performance was median, and no score evolution was observed between the activities. Previous experience was the more important factor for a better score.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding

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