Tool 19 – Assess your consultation skills and style

Why you should use this tool

It is important to focus on your patient’s agenda rather than your own. This exercise helps you as a care professional to analyse your approach in patient consultations and review your achievements.

When to use this tool

Within or straight after a consultation with a patient.

What to do

Use the checklist overleaf to review the extent to which you complete the six tasks for individual patients. Start with 10 patients picked at random from several surgeries or clinics (eg one or two per surgery or clinic) and complete the checklist after each session while the consultation is still fresh in your mind. Alternatively, you could review a series of consecutive consultations (eg the first or last five patients from two surgeries or clinics).

Time:

the minimum time this exercise should take is 60 minutes, allowing a little time for reflection.

How it works

Doing this exercise should help you to consider the extent to which you keep your determination to support self care among patients in balance with the reasons that the patient is consulting with you.

What to do next

Invite individuals to debrief as a team and reflect on whether their support for self care is appropriately introduced in the majority of consultations.

For more information on this tool, please click here on Tool 19.

Consultation checklist

Check out how comprehensive your approach is in patient consultations and if they include self care support.

Component of consultation

Whether you did this (tick if so)

1. Discover the reason(s) your patient has come to see you

Elicit the patient’s account of the symptom(s) that made him or her consult with you

Obtain relevant information about the patient’s social and occupational circumstances

Explore your patient’s health understanding

Enquire about other problems

2. Define the clinical problem(s)

Obtain additional information about critical symptoms and details of the patient’s medical history

Assess your patient’s condition by examination where appropriate

Make a working diagnosis

3. Address your patient’s problem(s)

Assess the severity of the presenting problem

Together with the patient, choose an appropriate form of care

Involve your patient in the care plan to the appropriate extent

Try to achieve a shared care plan

4. Explain the problem(s) to your patient

Tailor the explanation to the needs of your patient

Ensure that the explanation is understood and accepted by your patient

Try to achieve a shared understanding of the problem(s)

5. Made effective use of the consultation

Make efficient use of resources

Establish and maintain an effective relationship with your patient

Give opportunistic health advice where appropriate

6. Promote self care

Discuss future prevention of the condition

Explain how to wait for resolution of this or future health problems

Explain how self care can alleviate the condition

Encourage tolerance of the health condition, as appropriate