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Effective communication is central to the clinicianpatient encounter. When the patient’s needs and concerns are well understood through a biopsychosocial formulation, then a comprehensive care plan can be mutually agreed on. Communication skills training (CST) has become one vehicle to build skills that optimally advance the clinical agenda, alongside promoting professionalism and excellence of care. Good communication skills have been linked to higher patient satisfaction, greater patient adherence to treatment, better patient health outcomes, fewer physician malpractice claims, reduced patient anxiety, increased recall, and improved understanding.

Patients with cancer report unmet communication needs for information about the extent of disease, prognosis, and treatment options, intent, and adverse effects. This is consistent with earlier studies on communication in clinical encounters. When the clinician is responsive to patients’ needs, their anxiety levels have been significantly reduced.

In this article, we propose the establishment of a universal CST curriculum for fellows of all cancer specialties that builds their professionalism and sustains effective clinician-patient communication throughout their careers.

(https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3341141/. 06.08.2025. Adaptado)