Clinical scenarios
Enter through the moment in front of you
Each pathway connects communication, clinical considerations, specialist support, urgency, documentation, patient and family resources, evidence, teaching, and follow-up.
New diagnosis
shock, fear, identity disruption, uncertainty, family concerns, meaning, and sources of strength
Open scenarioBad-news visit
grief, disbelief, communication needs, hope, decision pressure, and support preferences
Open scenarioTreatment initiation
hope, fear of harm, trust, logistics, beliefs affecting care, and family roles
Open scenarioTreatment complications
loss of confidence, anger, guilt, uncertainty, suffering, and altered expectations
Open scenarioRecurrence
fear, grief, spiritual struggle, survivor identity, treatment burden, and renewed uncertainty
Open scenarioDisease progression
loss, changing hope, goals, family needs, spiritual struggle, and palliative support
Open scenarioSurvivorship
gratitude, fear of recurrence, identity, late effects, work, relationships, and purpose
Open scenarioFear of recurrence
hypervigilance, uncertainty, surveillance anxiety, loss of safety, and meaning
Open scenarioMajor surgery
mortality, bodily integrity, control, prayer or ritual, family, and recovery hopes
Open scenarioICU admission
acute uncertainty, family conflict, ritual needs, fear, treatment decisions, and grief
Open scenarioFamily conflict
different values, roles, grief responses, communication patterns, coercion, and decision authority
Open scenarioPrayer request
need for comfort, connection, ritual, hope, presence, or a faith-community relationship
Open scenarioReligious accommodation
diet, modesty, prayer, ritual, sacred items, timing, visitors, or community support
Open scenarioTreatment refusal
understanding, capacity, voluntariness, values, beliefs, alternatives, urgency, and coercion
Open scenarioGoals of care
understanding, hopes, acceptable burdens, values, relationships, decision preferences, and legacy
Open scenarioSerious illness
uncertainty, symptoms, dependence, identity, relationships, hope, and future priorities
Open scenarioHospice
comfort, family, place of care, legacy, ritual, grief, meaning, and peaceful dying
Open scenarioEnd of life
comfort, reconciliation, relationships, ritual, legacy, fear, hope, and presence
Open scenarioBereavement
grief, guilt, anger, meaning, community, family roles, memory, and safety
Open scenarioPediatric serious illness
development, parent or guardian distress, sibling needs, truth-telling, hope, and rituals
Open scenarioPregnancy loss
grief, identity, guilt, trauma, family and cultural practices, remembrance, and support
Open scenarioCaregiver distress
exhaustion, guilt, anticipatory grief, isolation, identity change, practical burden, and safety
Open scenarioClinician moral distress
values conflict, powerlessness, grief, team communication, ethics, boundaries, and restoration
Open scenario