Station 10 — Patient Counselling Skills in a Cardiovascular Clinical Scenario
Rapid Revision • Communication Skills • Patient-Centred Counselling
🎯 Task
You are speaking with a patient attending follow-up for a cardiovascular condition who has concerns about their health and ongoing management. Counsel the patient appropriately, respond to their concerns and check their understanding before concluding the consultation.
- Start: Introduce yourself, confirm the patient and establish what they already understand and what concerns them most.
- Explain: Give clear, jargon-free information in small sections, relating advice to the patient’s cardiovascular health and individual circumstances.
- Involve: Discuss relevant lifestyle, medication or follow-up issues using shared decision-making rather than simply giving instructions.
- Check: Confirm understanding using chunk-and-check or teach-back and address remaining concerns.
- Close: Summarise the agreed plan, provide appropriate safety-netting and invite questions.
🔎 Stepwise Procedure / Approach
- Introduce yourself and establish rapport. Confirm the patient’s identity and explain the purpose of the discussion.
- Assess current understanding. Ask what the patient already knows about their cardiovascular condition, treatment or risk factors.
- Explore concerns and expectations. Use open questions and active listening to identify the issues most important to the patient.
- Give a clear explanation. Use simple patient-friendly language, avoid unnecessary medical jargon and provide information in manageable chunks.
- Personalise the counselling. Address relevant issues such as medication adherence, smoking, diet, physical activity, weight or follow-up only when applicable to the scenario.
- Encourage shared decisions. Discuss practical options, acknowledge barriers and agree on realistic actions with the patient.
- Check understanding. Ask the patient to explain the key plan back in their own words rather than simply asking, “Do you understand?”
- Close professionally. Summarise the agreed plan, provide appropriate safety-net advice, invite questions and thank the patient.
🖼️ Visual Learning
Cardiovascular Patient Counselling — OSCE Communication Flow
🎥 Practical Video
🎥 Practical Demonstration — Smoking Cessation Counselling OSCE
A practical OSCE consultation demonstrating transferable cardiovascular counselling skills including rapport, ideas and concerns, active listening, shared decision-making and professional closure.
📝 Important Viva Questions
Q1. What is the first important step before giving counselling information?
Answer: Assess the patient’s existing understanding, concerns and expectations so that the counselling can be personalised.
Q2. Why should medical jargon be avoided during counselling?
Answer: Jargon may reduce understanding and increase confusion. Information should be communicated in clear patient-friendly language.
Q3. What does “chunk and check” mean?
Answer: Give information in small manageable sections and check the patient’s understanding after each important section.
Q4. What is teach-back?
Answer: Ask the patient to explain the important information or agreed plan back in their own words to confirm effective communication.
Q5. What communication behaviours demonstrate active listening?
Answer: Appropriate eye contact, open posture, allowing the patient to speak, responding to cues, clarification and summarising.
Q6. What is shared decision-making?
Answer: The clinician and patient discuss appropriate options and reach a plan that considers clinical needs as well as the patient’s preferences and circumstances.
Q7. How should a cardiovascular counselling consultation be concluded?
Answer: Summarise the agreed plan, check understanding, provide relevant safety-net advice, invite questions and close professionally.