Lesson 5.4 — Practice Drills and Self-Assessment
Drill 1 — Cue Spotting
Listen to or review five consultations. Ignore the diagnosis. Write down every cue you notice and whether you explored it, parked it explicitly or missed it.
Drill 2 — Ban Your Favourite Empathy Phrase
For one practice session, deliberately avoid your most-used empathy phrase. Force yourself to respond to the specific content of the patient’s statement.
Drill 3 — One-Minute Explanation
Explain a common management decision in one minute using three chunks. After each chunk, leave space for the patient to respond.
Drill 4 — Refusal
Ask a colleague to refuse your preferred plan. Your task is not to persuade them immediately. Spend the first part only understanding why.
Drill 5 — Use It Later
During a mock case, identify one patient preference or life factor and deliberately bring it back when discussing management.
Self-Rating After a Mock
- I responded to the patient rather than to my checklist.
- I noticed at least one meaningful cue.
- I explored agenda/beliefs/preferences naturally.
- I used psychosocial information only when relevant.
- I explained why I asked sensitive or unexpected questions.
- My explanation was interactive rather than a lecture.
- I used patient information to personalise the plan.
- I respected autonomy and avoided judgement.
- My safety-net was specific.
- I sounded like myself.