Communication
CPSA · Communication · Information giving
Explaining a procedure or investigation
Distinct from consent: here the task is comprehension, not authorisation. Structure it as before, during, after — and say what it will feel like, which is what patients actually want to know.
The framework
Check the starting point
- What have they been told, and what do they want to know?
Why
- What question the test answers, and what we would do differently with the result.
Before
- Preparation — fasting, bowel prep, stopping anticoagulation, arranging an escort.
During
- Where, how long, who will be there, sedation or anaesthetic.
- What it will FEEL like — the part patients care about and clinicians skip.
After
- Recovery, driving, work, when and how results come, and who to contact if something is wrong.
Close
- Check understanding, invite questions, offer written information.
Phrases that work
- “Has anyone explained what an endoscopy involves?”
- “You will be awake but sleepy. Most people say the worst part is the throat spray tasting unpleasant.”
- “It takes about ten minutes, and you will be in the department around two hours in total.”
- “You will not be able to drive for the rest of the day, so you will need someone to take you home.”
Pitfalls that lose marks
- Explaining the mechanism and omitting the experience.
- Forgetting the practicalities — escort, fasting, time off work.
- Not saying how and when results will arrive, which is the commonest source of later complaints.
- Using “scope”, “NBM”, “cannula” without translation.