GITalk: Communication Skills Training for Gastroenterology Fellows Improves Self-Assessed Preparedness for Serious Illness Conversations

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Despite caring for patients with serious illnesses, gastroenterology (GI) fellows rarely receive training in serious illness conversations (SIC). <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> To describe the development, implementation, and assessment of GITalk, a novel SIC training for GI fellows. <b><i>Design:</i></b> GITalk was based on the REMAP framework and involved two simulated encounters. One case involved a patient with decompensated cirrhosis, and the other case was about feeding tube placement in someone with moderate to severe dementia. <b><i>Setting and Subjects:</i></b> GI fellows in an academic medical center in the USA. <b><i>Measurements:</i></b> Demographics of the participants, evaluation of the course content, and self-assessed preparedness for SIC. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 23 GI fellows participated over 4 consecutive years. Participants had significantly higher mean post-training self-assessed preparedness scores compared to pre-training across all 9 survey questions. 91% of participants strongly agreed with the statement: "I would recommend this training to other fellows." <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Participants in GITalk reported substantial improvement in self-assessed preparedness for navigating SIC.