Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
We continue our series in which Consultant Interventionist Dr Michael Norell takes a sideways look at life in the cath lab… and beyond. In this column, he considers communication with the patient.
Introduction
Two recent, but completely separate instances, prompted me to produce the paragraphs below. The first was National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance covering the management of patients with recent onset chest pain. As a cardiologist with more years of experience than I would wish to count, this will, of course, prove to be most helpful in the interpretation of the symptom complex with which our patients present.
The second, and probably more pertinent, was a tutorial I was delivering (sic) to a small group of medical students about the clerking of cardiac patients. It dawned on me that the ease with which we chat to patients and come to a fairly accurate idea of their possible pathology, is a technique that has been honed over many years. To the student it looks blasé and completely effortless, but we are, almost unconsciously, using time-honoured skills as we watch and listen to what our patients tell us.