TY - JOUR T1 - It's hard to talk about breathlessness: a unique insight from respiratory trainees  JF - Clinical Medicine JO - Clin Med SP - 344 LP - 347 DO - 10.7861/clinmedicine.19-4-344 VL - 19 IS - 4 AU - Sarah Lunn AU - Ruvini Dharmagunawardena AU - Mark Lander AU - Joanne Sweeney Y1 - 2019/07/01 UR - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/19/4/344.abstract N2 - This paper describes how difficult it can be to discuss the experience of breathlessness with patients, as identified by respiratory trainees in a psychology-led workshop. The reasons why it is considered an essential role for clinicians to facilitate conversations about patients’ breathlessness are outlined within the context of the challenges of respiratory care. The benefits for both patient and clinician are described including rapport building, more focused and targeted consultations, and increasing a patient’s receptivity to interventions. The value of preparing a patient to actively engage with their breathlessness management is highlighted. As a way to support clinicians to initiate talk about breathlessness, a ‘five-step guide to talking’ is presented. ER -