Communication
CPSA · Communication · Information giving
Explaining uncertainty and a normal result
Telling someone you do not know what is wrong, without either alarming them or dismissing them. “Your tests are all normal” alone is heard as “I do not believe you”.
The framework
Name it positively
- Say what has been excluded and what that genuinely rules out — not just “normal”.
- Say plainly that the symptoms are real and you believe them.
Explain the uncertainty
- Why tests can be normal in a real condition. What you think is most likely, and how confident you are.
Make a plan anyway
- Uncertainty is not the absence of a plan. Symptomatic management, a time course to expect, and a review point.
Safety-net explicitly
- Specific symptoms that mean come back sooner, who to contact, and by when. Then confirm they can repeat it.
Phrases that work
- “The good news is that we have ruled out the serious causes — your heart tracing and blood tests are reassuring.”
- “I do not yet have a name for what is causing this, and I would rather be honest about that than guess.”
- “A normal test does not mean nothing is wrong. It means we have excluded some specific things.”
- “If the pain changes character, or you become breathless, I want you back the same day. Can you tell me what you would look out for?”
Pitfalls that lose marks
- “Everything is normal” with nothing after it — heard as disbelief.
- Manufacturing a diagnosis to fill the silence.
- “Come back if it gets worse” with no specifics and no owner.
- Not saying you believe the symptoms are real.
- Concealing uncertainty to appear competent.