Breaking silence: a survey of barriers to goals of care discussions from the perspective of oncology practitioners

BackgroundCancer is the leading cause of death in the developed world, and yet healthcare practitioners infrequently discuss goals of care (GoC) with hospitalized cancer patients. We sought to identify barriers to GoC discussions from the perspectives of staff oncologists, oncology residents, and oncology nurses.MethodsThis was a single center survey of staff oncologists, oncology residents, and inpatient oncology nurses. Barriers to GoC …