Consultation skills (advanced)

Transcript

Welcome to the consultation skills advanced page/topic. This page/topic aims to build upon the core knowledge, skills and behaviours covered in the consultation skills core page. The role of the pharmacy profession is growing and evolving, and with the introduction of more pharmacists working in general practice, enhancing communication and consultation skills has become even more important. This page offers you the opportunity to advance your practice by looking at how you can carry out consultations with specific patient groups. The aim is to equip with you with the necessary skills to be able to make a difference with every type of consultation, and help to increase patients’ health and wellbeing. Have you ever thought about how you can change your consultation style to support patients who are living with dementia, or other mental health issues? How having a carer or family member involved can change the dynamics of the consultation, and how you would manage this three-way consultation? On this page you will find lots of information to support you to advance your current practice. To start you might want to look back over the CSfPP practice standards and reflect on where you are now, and any areas you want to develop further. Once you have done that take a look at the advanced learning section and work through some of the activities.

In this programme you will consider how to prepare for and approach your consultations with people living with dementia.

Learning Objectives:

• discuss the importance and benefits of involving people with dementia in consultations and decisions about their treatment and health
• describe the skills and techniques needed to engage and communicate effectively with people with dementia
• identify some key national practice standards most applicable to pharmacy consultations with people with dementia
• recognise and address the challenges of a three-way consultation
• apply the knowledge, behaviours and person-centred skills needed to maximise the effectiveness of your consultations with people with dementia.

In this programme you will consider what is different about consulting with people with mental health problems and how you can prepare for and approach these consultations so that people get the most benefit from them.

Learning Objectives:

• describe the mental health treatment gap and the importance of parity of esteem (valuing mental health equally with physical health)
• recognise the impact of stigma and discrimination experienced by those with mental health problems
• select the key national practice standards most applicable to pharmacy consultations with people with mental health problems
• reflect on your consultations with people experiencing mental health problems
• maximise the effectiveness of your consultations in this field by applying person-centred skills and behaviours
• identify possible risks in your consultations with people with mental health problems.

Involving children in the discussion about their care can improve outcomes and promote ownership of health. This e-learning programme focuses on the key skills and behaviours you can adopt to make sure you communicate effectively with children and young people and manage the triadic consultation effectively.

Learning Objectives:

• describe the benefits of involving children and young people in the consultation
• recognise and address the challenges of the triadic consultation
• describe the skills and techniques needed to engage children and young people successfully in the consultation
• apply the skills, knowledge and behaviours to demonstrate a patient-centred approach when consulting with children and young people
• complete a self-reflection checklist to support you in developing your practice.

In this programme, we consider the key skills and behaviours you can adopt to ensure a patient-centred approach when consulting with people with physical disabilities. We focus on sight loss, hearing loss and mobility problems, and look at ways you can prepare for and conduct a successful consultation.

Learning Objectives:

• describe the benefits of developing and adapting the consultation to meet the needs of people with physical disabilities (sight loss, hearing loss and mobility/dexterity problems)
• recognise and address the different challenges a person with a disability may face in order to adapt the consultation to meet the needs of a person with a physical disability
• demonstrate partnership, working to engage and involve people with physical disabilities in the consultation
• apply skills, knowledge and behaviours to demonstrate a patient-centred approach when consulting with people with physical disabilities.

Enhancing the communication and consultation skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians has been identified as a priority by Health Education England. This downloadable programme forms part of the core learning for the Consultation skills for pharmacy practice programme.

Learning Objectives:

• explain the concept of patient-centred care
• describe the key communication and consultation skills and techniques required to conduct patient-centred care
• apply methods to assess your own practice and identify areas of improvement
• support patients, by using a patient-centred approach, to help them get the best from their medicines and/or in making healthy lifestyle choices
• further develop your practice by exploring tools and techniques, such as health coaching.

In this video-based e-learning programme, we consider the key skills you can use to take an effective clinical history. The program uses the Calgary-Cambridge guide to take you through the clinical history-taking process and introduces you to tools and resources to help you demonstrate a patient-centred approach to the consultation.

Learning Objectives:

• describe the clinical history-taking process
• explain the structure of the clinical history consultation
• apply key tools and techniques to the clinical history-taking consultation
• identify how to apply a patient-centred approach to taking a clinical history in practice through video observation
• develop a questioning sheet to use in practice.

Increasingly, people with a learning disability will be living in the community and being seen in mainstream NHS services. This programme considers action that those working in mainstream services can take that will support this key element of NHS care.

This programme has been designed to enable you to contribute and respond more effectively to the needs of people with a learning disability, their carers and their support workers, to optimise their medicines and improve their health outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• categorise a range of learning disabilities and the differences in capability that can occur in each of these
• describe key policy drivers that support change in the management of people with a learning disability
• explain consent to a person with a learning disability and recognise when to involve family members, carers and support workers in the consultation
• demonstrate patient-centred consultation skills and behaviours to meet the needs of people with a learning disability
• promote physical health and wellbeing and support patients to manage their concurrent physical health conditions
• identify people with a learning disability and concurrent mental health disorder and provide them with advice and support
• support people with a learning disability and their families to manage behaviour that challenges, in line with National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidance
• explain the importance of a holistic approach to medicines optimisation as a strategy to help people with a learning disability make the most of their medicines.

The Emma and Georgina animation highlights the importance of effective consultation skills and how applying a person-centred approach can make a difference when supporting someone with mental health problems.

This course is delivered by future learn and provides healthcare professionals with the tools to conduct consultations and obtain basic observations remotely and safely, including basic triage.

Participants will learn how to conduct history taking virtually and take essential observations in a remote setting. They will also consider safe patient management and how to triage patients via remote consultations.

This e-assessment is linked with the practice standards for consultation skills and the CPPE consultation skills learning programmes.

Why should I do this assessment?

Completing this assessment will help you to check your progress and your ability to meet the competencies set out in the practice standards for consultation skills. Passing the assessment will provide assurance to you, your colleagues, other healthcare professionals and patients that you are able to recognise good practice, as well as practice that needs development.

Access and successful completion of this assessment will contribute to your own personal development plan, be recorded in your My CPPE record and will enable you to complete a CPD entry on the learning. It may also provide evidence for achieving competencies in the RPS Foundation or Advanced Pharmacy Frameworks. If you are working towards completing a Declaration of Competence for a pharmacy service, successful completion of this assessment will provide evidence of your learning.