An Introduction to Essential Techniques course for GPs

This is the first of two sessions covering the fundamentals of consulting skills. The four categories are: establishing rapport, eliciting information, responding to cues and building concordance. These are skills you are likely to need in all of your consultations. This session was reviewed by Suchita Shah and last updated in February 2015.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe three of the four categories of core consulting skills
• Identify a range of component skills within each category

You might sometimes feel confused by all the information and advice about consulting skills. With so many models, books, courses and experts it can be hard to see the wood for the trees. Some of your consultations seem to go well and others less well. Some doctors seem better at consulting than others and, naturally, you would like to become a good consulter. But where do you start?