Informed Consent: in a patient's shoes - RCSEd Communications Skills Video Competition 2017

The College is pleased to announce that Ellen Jerome and Samir Salih have been awarded winners of the RCSEd Video Communications Skills Video Competition 2017 for their video submission on ‘Informed Consent: in a patient’s shoes’.

In their submission, they explain that surgeons have a great responsibility to their patients’ understanding of the disease affecting them, and the operative and non-operative treatments recommended. They comment that surgeons can, at times, overestimate patients’ comprehension, how much information delivered patients take in, and how able they feel to ask questions (more intimidating than we may realise). While often done well, giving information – particularly in the context of consent - is also something that is often done poorly.