Empathic Communication Skills (ECS) Training

The aims of this study are: 1. to evaluate the effect of the ECS training on OCP primary outcomes (communication and empathic skill uptake) and secondary outcomes (ECS training appraisal - relevance, novelty, clarity; self-efficacy, empathy, compassion burn-out); 2. to evaluate the effect of the ECS training vs. WLC on patients' reported primary outcomes (lung cancer stigma), and secondary outcomes (perceived clinician empathy, satisfaction with communication, psychological distress, patients' experience of clinical encounter, and overall patient satisfaction). Additionally, acceptance of referral to tobacco cessation (for those currently smoking) will be explored; and 3. to examine potential moderators of OCP (e.g., demographic characteristics, professional role characteristics) and patient outcomes (e.g., demographic characteristics, illness characteristics). Our central hypothesis is that the ECS training will demonstrate significant short-term improvements in clinicians' uptake of empathic skills and self-efficacy and will be superior to WLC with regards to patient reported measures of stigma, clinician empathy, satisfaction, and overall experience.