General Practice

Question 1

How have GP practices changed over the years?

Answer 1

No longer a typical practice, practices respond to local health needs. Practices tend to be larger and there are no less small single handed rural practices. Steady increase in the number of large practices and therefore there is consolidation and growth in the number of GP patient lists. Traditional staff roles have expanded and developed to meet the needs of the practice. Move from paper to digital record keeping and are now potentially offering online abilities sich as appointment bookings and repeat prescriptions.

Question 2

What are the benefits of online record keeping?

Answer 2

Easy to access (by multiple members of approved staff members)

GP’s can track information in a more effective manner (easier to search, graph and list)

The software can store appointments, assist in consultations, support prescribing, and allow GP’s to manafe hospital letters and blood results electronically.

Question 3

Give examples of the flexibility in work available to a GP

Answer 3

Can decide the pattern of their work

Can take on other roles such as working in the hospital or the University

GP can choose the number of sessions worked in a week with one session being half a day

GP’s no longer obliged to provide ‘out of hours care’ but they can choose to if they want.

Question 4

How can a GP prepare for appraisal?

Answer 4

Reading literature, attending courses and performing audits.

The BMA recommended salaried GP contract has time negotiated as protected for appraisal, and most partnerships accommodate GP partners learning needs with allocated study leave.

Question 5

Give examples of who might be in the practice team

Answer 5

Manager
• IT/Admin Staff
• Secretarial Staff
• Reception Staff
• Nurses – Junior/Senior
• Advanced Nurse Practitioners/Physicians Assistants • Phlebotomists/Health Care Assistants

Question 6

What are the benefits of high quality communication between doctor and patient?

Answer 6

Research shows that it improves patient satisfaction, recall, understanding, concordance and outcomes of care.

Question 7

What are the four essential parts of clinical competence?

Answer 7

Knowledge, communication skills, physical examination and problem solving

Question 8

What are the three types of skill are needed for successful medical interviewing?

Answer 8

Content skills. Perceptual skills. Process skills.

Question 9

What are the two factors that influence the consultation?

Answer 9

Physical factors and personal factors (doctor and patient)

Question 10

What are the three types of doctor patient relationship? as described by Szaaz anf Hollender, 1956?

Answer 10

Authoritarian or paternalistic relationship

Guidance/co-operation

Mutual participation relationship

Question 11

What are the benefits of adopting a mutual participation style?

Answer 11

By adopting mutual participation style:

• Patients take on a larger portion of responsibility for their own health through sharing of information and decision-making
• Patients feel a greater sense of autonomy since more participation
• Patient compliance is improved
• Patient satisfaction is improved because they have been fully informed – less likely to complain about treatment.

Question 12

Describe an authoritarian doctor patient relationship

Answer 12

Physician uses all authority and patient has no autonomy, the patient tries hard to please the doctor and does not actively participate in their own treatment

Question 13

Describe the guidance / cooperation relationship

Answer 13

Physician exercises much authority and the patient is obedient, but has a greater feeling of autonomy and participates somewhat more actively in the relationship.

Question 14

Give exmples of quesiton types

Answer 14

Open-ended question

Direct question

Closed question

Leading question

Reflected question

Question 15

What are four inportant points to consider when using body language?

Answer 15

Culture
Context
Gesture Clusters

Congruence