Table 1.

MCA components and materials

MCA component	MCA materials
Interprofessional communication training (four sessions (6–8 h each) with 3 to 4 weeks in between)	- Milestone conversation (MC) manual for physicians and nurses: detailed description of the content of planned, structured nurse-physician–patient consultations including family caregivers (with rationale, objectives, definitions, and procedures) - Memory cards for physicians and nurses: a pocket-sized overview of essentials of the MCA conversation manual - Training materials: description of communication techniques and exercises for all four training sessions - Training observation checklist: list of essential components trainers use to evaluate MCA exercises during the training and coaching
Milestone conversation (in four phases over the disease trajectory)	- Milestone conversation file (shared electronic file for all members of the professional team) with the content of the consultations and reactions of patients and caregivers - Brochure for patients: managing lung cancer symptoms (developed by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation), translated into German, adapted to the German health care system
Follow-up session (1 week after each milestone conversation and then monthly)	- Follow-up sessions manual for nurses: detailed description of the content of follow-up phone calls or meetings for nurses - Follow-up chart with the content of follow-up sessions and the stated needs and reactions of patients and/or caregivers - Integrated palliative outcome scale (IPOS): instrument to measure palliative care needs of patients in relation to symptoms but also extending to information needs, practical concerns, anxiety or low mood, family anxieties, and overall feeling of being at peace