Dear All

Thank you for participating in the session today.

In RRR we discussed:

  • Fragile X
  • Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome
  • Vomiting in an infant

The Communication scenario was a new born baby noted to be dusky at 4 hours of age. Registrar’s – (candidate’s) clinical assessment is the likely diagnosis is Transposition of Great Arteries (TGA). Task is to explain to mother and get consent for urgent treatment and transfer toa surgical unit. Dr A was a very good role player as the mother. Dr P and Dr P wore the examiner hat and Dr D was in the hotseat. The attempt was good and most points were covered in the attempt. There were a few questions that came up:

  • Should we discuss with Consultant before or after speaking with RP?
  • How to avoid medical jargon?
  • Why it happened i.e. the malformation / defect?

The Learning points are:

  • Read the stem VERY carefully and note all the information provided.
  • Keep your explanations simple.
  • You can escalate your ‘complexity’ depending on response.
  • Do not for 30 sec rule – hence keep them brief
  • Get a chaperone – ward sister is generally very good
  • Do not bring in details that do not add to communication
  • Too many details only create confusion.
  • You should speak to RP first and then inform Consultant in this scenario
  • Sometimes Medical jargon cannot be avoided else discussion can reduce to ‘Baby talk’.
  • With use of Medical terms – ALWAYS explain what the term means.
  • We do not know why it happened. Sometimes nature ‘goes wrong’. Development of a human baby from a single cell is an extremely complex process that we do not understand. It is NOBODY’s fault.Do
  •  NOT give wrong information.
  • Always be a positive and reassuring doctor – NOT Doom & Gloom

Please visit www.mrcpchonline.org to add your comments or points I may have missed.

Anil Garg