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Can mastering tough talks with patients reduce doctor burnout?

NCT ID NCT05979090

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Heather Ballard Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 10, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026

Summary

This study tests whether a special training program called mastery learning can improve how anesthesiology residents handle difficult conversations with patients and families. Residents are randomly assigned to either the mastery training or standard learning. Researchers then measure their communication skills in simulations and real clinical settings, as well as their burnout levels. The goal is to see if this intensive practice leads to better skills and less emotional exhaustion.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Mastery learning in communication skills
What this could lead to
If it works, this could point toward a training method that improves doctor-patient communication and reduces burnout among medical residents.
What could go wrong
This is a relatively small, early-stage study focused on training, not a treatment. Results may not generalize to all settings or show lasting impact.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 80 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Jan 2023

Expected to finish

Jan 2030

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

20 to 60 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Anesthesiology residents rotating at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Exclusion Criteria: * Participant refusal * Study participants who have already undergone the mastery learning in difficult conversations course.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Burnout, Professional Communication communication disorder occupation-related stress disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Burnout, professional Communication research Communication, personal

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Northwestern University Simulation Center

    RECRUITING

    Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States

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