Providing Structure To Your Healthcare Consultations | Consultation Basics

Summary

This video emphasizes the importance of structuring consultations to enhance communication between practitioners and patients. It highlights the Calgary Cambridge guide as a comprehensive model for consultation, which includes initiating, gathering information, explaining, planning, and closing the session. Key skills such as summarizing, signposting, sequencing, and timing are discussed to ensure a collaborative and efficient consultation process. By implementing these strategies, practitioners can build a strong therapeutic relationship with their patients, fostering better care and outcomes.

Takeaways

• 😀 Structuring consultations benefits both the practitioner and patient by enabling balanced communication.
• 💡 The Calgary Cambridge model is a widely recommended structure for consultations, focusing on clear phases like initiating, gathering information, and closing.
• 🔄 Summarizing is crucial for reviewing what has been discussed and clarifying missing information or misunderstandings.
• 🚩 Signposting helps the patient understand the flow of the consultation and introduces transitions between discussion points.
• 📊 Sequencing ensures that the consultation follows a logical order while allowing flexibility when needed.
• ⏳ Timing is essential to ensure each part of the consultation is given adequate attention and the session stays on track.
• 📝 Summarizing and signposting together improve communication clarity and patient involvement in the consultation process.
• 🔍 A collaborative partnership between practitioner and patient can make consultations more efficient and patient-centered.
• 🧭 Using a structured guide like Calgary Cambridge ensures a consistent approach to consultation while allowing adaptation.
• 🤝 Building rapport and ensuring clear structure throughout the consultation fosters a therapeutic relationship.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The main focus of the video is to discuss how to provide structure to consultations and the benefits of doing so for both the practitioner and the patient.

Why is a collaborative partnership between practitioner and patient important?

A collaborative partnership is important because it allows for a balanced influence over the consultation, enabling the patient to contribute equally, which is essential for effective communication and optimal patient care.

What is the Calgary Cambridge guide mentioned in the video?

The Calgary Cambridge guide is a widely advocated consultation model that emphasizes providing structure throughout the entire consultation, not just sequentially.

What are the categories of the Calgary Cambridge consultation?

The categories are initiating the session, gathering information (which may include a physical examination), explanation and planning, and closing the session.

Why is two-way communication important in a consultation?

Two-way communication is important because it encourages patient collaboration from the beginning and shapes the consultation, allowing for a more effective and patient-centered approach.

What are the four key skills discussed in the video that help provide structure to consultations?

The four key skills are summarizing, signposting, sequencing, and timing.

How does summarizing help in a consultation?

Summarizing allows the practitioner to review and order the information discussed, identify any gaps or clarifications needed, and consider the next steps in the consultation while considering the patient's perspective.

What is the purpose of signposting in a consultation?

Signposting introduces and draws attention to what the practitioner is about to say, helps introduce summaries, and can be used to transition between sections of the consultation, making the structure apparent to the patient.

Why is sequencing important in maintaining the flow of a consultation?

Sequencing ensures a logical and understandable progression throughout the consultation, making it clear to the patient and allowing for flexibility while staying on track.

How does timing affect the effectiveness of a consultation?

Effective timing ensures that each section of the consultation is given appropriate time, preventing the consultation from running out of time for important sections and maintaining efficiency.

What does the video suggest as a starting point for finding a structure for consultations?

The video suggests the Calgary Cambridge model as a good starting point for finding a structure for consultations, emphasizing rapport building and maintaining a structured flow.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Structuring Consultations for Effective Communication

This paragraph introduces the importance of structuring consultations to benefit both practitioners and patients. It emphasizes the need for a balanced and collaborative partnership between the two parties. The Calgary Cambridge guide is mentioned as a widely advocated model for structuring the consultation process. The guide suggests that structure should be maintained throughout the entire consultation, not just sequentially. The consultation is divided into key components: initiating the session, gathering information, explanation and planning, and closing the session. The paragraph also introduces four key skills for structuring consultations: summarizing, signposting, sequencing, and timing. Summarizing involves providing a verbal summary to the patient, which helps to review and order information, while signposting introduces and draws attention to what the practitioner is about to say. These skills are crucial for establishing a clear structure that the patient can understand and engage with.

05:01

⏱️ Time Management and Structuring Techniques in Consultations

The second paragraph delves into the practical aspects of structuring consultations, focusing on time management and the effective use of the consultation time. It stresses the importance of considering the amount of time spent on each section to ensure all parts are adequately covered. The paragraph suggests that while time constraints are always a challenge, a patient-centered approach can actually enhance the efficiency of the consultation. The discussion also circles back to the four key skills introduced earlier: summarizing, signposting, sequencing, and timing. The paragraph concludes by advocating for the use of a structured approach, such as the Calgary Cambridge model, to build rapport and maintain a smooth flow throughout the consultation. The video ends with a call to action for viewers to engage with the channel on social media platforms.

Keywords

💡Consultation

A consultation in the context of the video refers to a professional meeting between a healthcare practitioner and a patient. It is a structured interaction aimed at understanding the patient's health issues and collaboratively planning treatment. The video emphasizes the importance of structuring consultations to optimize patient care and communication.

💡Collaborative Partnership

Collaborative partnership is a key concept in the video, highlighting the importance of a cooperative and equal relationship between the practitioner and the patient. This partnership is crucial for effective communication and shared decision-making during the consultation process.

💡Structure

Structure in the video script refers to the organization and planning of the consultation process. It is essential for ensuring that all necessary aspects of the patient's care are addressed. The video suggests that structuring the consultation can benefit both the practitioner and the patient by facilitating clear communication and efficient care.

💡Calgary Cambridge Guide

The Calgary Cambridge Guide is a widely advocated model for structuring medical consultations, as mentioned in the video. It provides a framework that includes initiating the session, gathering information, explanation, planning, and closing the session. This guide is used to ensure that the consultation is comprehensive and patient-centered.

💡Two-Way Communication

Two-way communication is emphasized as a critical component of structured consultations. It involves both the practitioner and the patient actively participating in the dialogue. The video script illustrates how making expectations and agendas overt at the beginning of the consultation encourages patient collaboration.

💡Summarizing

Summarizing is one of the four key skills discussed in the video for providing structure to consultations. It involves the practitioner providing a verbal summary of the discussion to ensure understanding and to clarify any missing or unclear information. This skill helps in maintaining coherence and guiding the direction of the consultation.

💡Signposting

Signposting is presented as a complementary skill to summarizing. It is used by the practitioner to introduce what will be discussed next, drawing the patient's attention to upcoming topics. This helps in managing the flow of the consultation and ensuring the patient is aware of the progression of the discussion.

💡Sequencing

Sequencing refers to maintaining a logical order throughout the consultation. The video script explains that it is the practitioner's responsibility to ensure that the consultation unfolds in a coherent sequence that is apparent to the patient, which aids in the overall effectiveness of the consultation.

💡Timing

Timing in the context of the video pertains to the efficient use of time during the consultation. It involves managing the time spent on each section of the consultation to ensure that all necessary topics are covered without rushing or overlooking important aspects of the patient's care.

💡Patient-Centered Approach

A patient-centered approach is highlighted as a way to make consultations more efficient and therapeutic. It involves focusing on the patient's perspective and needs, which can lead to better patient engagement and satisfaction. The video suggests that this approach, combined with effective collaboration, can enhance the consultation process.

Highlights

The importance of providing structure to consultations for both practitioners and patients.

The necessity of a collaborative partnership between practitioner and patient.

The concept that the consultation should be structured to allow equal patient contribution.

The Calgary Cambridge guide as a widely advocated model for consultation structure.

The idea that structure should be continuous throughout the consultation, not just sequential.

The categories of the Calgary Cambridge consultation model: initiating, gathering, explaining, planning, and closing.

The significance of two-way communication and making agendas overt at the start of the consultation.

The video on negotiating a shared agenda for more details on setting expectations.

Four key skills for structuring consultations: summarizing, signposting, sequencing, and timing.

Summarizing as a method to review and order information, and to guide the consultation's direction.

Signposting as a way to introduce summaries and guide the patient through the consultation.

Sequencing as the practitioner's responsibility to maintain a logical flow in the consultation.

Timing as a critical aspect of managing the consultation's time effectively.

The impact of a patient-centered approach and collaboration on consultation efficiency.

The value of the Calgary Cambridge model in establishing rapport and structure in consultations.

The importance of practice and mindfulness in managing time and structuring consultations.

Transcripts

in this video we will discuss how you

can provide structure to your

consultations and why this benefit to

the practitioner and the patient

[Music]

welcome to consultations to help helping

new progress in your communication

skills to optimize the care of your

patients we have discussed on this

channel already the benefits of a

collaborative partnership between

practitioner and the patient this is

only possible if the practitioner

structure the consultation in a way that

allows the patient to contribute equally

and this video helped to bring these

elements together in order to provide

structure planning attention to the

structure of consultation allows the

practitioner to assess the balance of

influence over the consultation and

means that the practitioner can read

ress the balance if they are influenced

in the consultation more than the

patient is one of the most widely

advocated consultation models is that at

the Calgary Cambridge guide providing

structure should occur throughout the

whole consultation and not just

sequentially a structure running around

is key to the different components of

the consultation being effective the

categories of the Calgary Cambridge

consultation are initiating the session

gathering information potentially

including a physical examination then

explanation and planning before finally

closing the session in order to

structure the consultation there are

several smaller objectives that should

bear in mind two-way communication is

important in every part of the

consultation and it's especially

important that you make expectations and

agendas overt at the very beginning of

the consultation this encourages the

patients collaboration from the offset

and shapes the consultation we've

discussed this in our video on

negotiating a shared agenda which goes

into more detail about how you may do

this we're now going to discuss four key

skills that can help provide structure

to your consultations these skills are

summarizing signposting sequencing and

timing so firstly summarizing

summarizing is when you provide an

explicit verbal summary to the patient

and these can take

forms a summary within the consultation

on a particular part of it or a summary

at the end which pulls together the

discussion summarizing allows you to

pull together and review what you have

discussed so far and realize the

information that you haven't obtained

yet or need to clarify it also allows

you to order the information coherently

and then consider where the consultation

should go next while considering the

illness and the patient's perspective

the very act of summarizing and the

patient's response to this will often

establish the most appropriate path

forward next is sign posting which can

be considered as the twin skill to

summarizing a sign posting statement

introduces and draws attention to what

the practitioner is about to say sign

posting statements can be useful to

introduce our first summary as we invite

the patient to think with us about if

the summary is in line with what they

wanted to get across you may say

something like just to make sure I've

understood properly and the patient can

then confirm your understanding correct

it or add additional details you can

also use sign posting to make the

progression from one section of the

consultation to another and to explain

why you're making this progression for

example you could say you mentioned that

the pain is worse at specific times I'd

like to explore that a little more you

would then go on to ask questions about

that summarizing and sign posting

together help to provide a structure

that is apparent to the patient and then

they can be actually involved with in

the consultation next is sequencing and

timing which help to attend to the flow

of the consultation sequencing in other

words maintaining a logical sequence

throughout the consultation is the

practitioners responsibility this

sequence should be apparent to the

patient as the consultation unfolds and

although being ordered and organized

should also be flexible one way of

achieving this kind of

core sequence is to have in mind

structure that works for them such as

the Cambridge Calgary guide and then

adapt this as required bearing in mind a

structure can help you to bring the

consultation back if it goes off track

lastly timing time constraints are

always an issue so it's important to

utilize the time that you have as best

as you can when working through a

structure you should consider the amount

of time being spent on each section of

the consultation and if that is

appropriate as you don't want to run out

of time for the other sections this is

something that is very hard to teach and

comes with practice and being mindful or

than managing the time effectively as

well as this we know that a

patient-centered approach and

collaboration can actually make the

consultation more efficient in summary

we've discussed how the Cambridge

Calgary model is a good place to start

in terms of finding yourself a structure

for your consultations and it should

make sure that rapport building and

structure flow throughout we've also

discussed four key skills to help

provide structure that are summarizing

signposting sequencing and timing and

this will help you to build a

collaborative and therapeutic

relationship

thank you for watching consultations for

health don't forget to like our Facebook

page follow us on Twitter and subscribe

to this channel

[Music]