Brush up your communication skills
Examples of a possible ideas, concerns and expectations
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The previous page asked to to list the possible ideas, concerns and expectations of a young man who has unilateral loin pain. There were no rights or wrongs to these questions - the aim was for you to try putting yourself into the patient's mind, and to think broadly.
One possible list is this:
Ideas
- 'I've sprained my back.’
- ‘Could I have a kidney infection?’
- ‘I hurt it in a fall, and it's the anguish coming out.’
Concerns
- ‘My father had pain like this, and turned out to have kidney cancer.’
- ‘I'm worried that I might have shingles.’
- ‘Could it be osteoporosis?’
Expectations
- ‘If it's just a sprain, I don't need anything to be done about it - it'll sort itself out.’
- ‘I want a scan.’
- ‘I just want to know if I can take my usual painkillers.’
Comment
Some of these may seem unlikely, but I've heard all these beliefs from patients at different times. If I hadn't asked, I wouldn't have known.
Next page: Top tips from our GP Registrars
Study guide by: Michael Harris (Department of General Practice, Bath).
Last updated: 28 February 2007