Open questions

Also known as: Open-ended questions

Questions that invite the patient to talk freely ("Tell me more about the pain") rather than answer yes or no. They gather rich information and build rapport early in a consultation.

Examiners reward candidates who open with broad questions and only narrow down later. Starting closed too soon makes the consultation feel like an interrogation and misses the patient’s real story.

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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