Effective communication skills are a key element in the doctor-patient relationship. Delivering bad news is an advanced and complex core competency required from health professionals. It includes not only a verbal component - associated with the content of the message, but also an emotional component - responding to the emotional cues of those receiving the bad news, coping with stress and expectations of patients and family members.

 Although Medical Education already includes components of communication skills, there is still little investment in the training of delivering of bad news. When not adequately delivered, there may be a compromise in the process of adaptation to the news, both by patients and their families, may cause a greater distance in the doctor-patient relationship and also increase the fears that many health professionals may develop in these circumstances, namely being blamed, not having certainties and the confrontation with the fear of their illness and death.

In this context there is a need to provide advanced experiential training to health professionals.