ABSTRACT
After connecting, the next checkpoint in the journey through the consultation is summarising. 'Summarising' is the point at which the patient's reasons for attending, his hopes, feelings, concerns and expectations, have been well enough explored and acknowledged for the consultation to move on. To do this, the practitioner needs to develop skill in listening and 'eliciting'. The Key Question for the doctor here is, 'Could I demonstrate to the patient that I've sufficiently understood why he's come?' To stress the importance of finding out exactly why the patient has come to see the practitioner needs no justification. A logical prerequisite of giving satisfaction is to know what would satisfy. The patient usually needs little in the way of encouragement, once the social preliminaries are over and while the practitioner is still observing and matching minimal cues to heighten the rapport between the practitioner, to embark on a description of the problem in his or her own words.
