All terms
Normalisation
Reassuring a patient that a feeling or experience is common and understandable ("Many people in your situation feel this way"), which can make it easier for them to open up.
Normalisation is useful for sensitive topics — mood, alcohol, sexual history — because it lowers shame and encourages honest disclosure without minimising the patient’s experience.
More glossary terms
- ABCDE approachA systematic method for assessing and treating an acutely unwell patient — Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure — dealing with each before moving on.
- AMPLE historyA focused emergency history — Allergies, Medications, Past history, Last meal, Events — taken quickly in acute situations.
- ARCPThe annual assessment that decides whether a doctor in training has met the competencies to progress to the next stage.
- AVPU scaleA rapid way to grade consciousness — Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, Unresponsive — used in initial assessment.
Put it into practice
Rehearse PLAB 2 stations with AI simulated patients and get structured feedback after every consultation.
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