Patient Medication Counselling

Proof required

Submit your 1-page framework summary (naming all components) and your observer's signed feedback confirming they watched the practice session. Feedback must name the communication skills demonstrated and at least one area for improvement.

What gets checked

• All six counselling components are present in the framework summary — omitting 'interactions to avoid' or 'what to do if a dose is missed' is a common shortcut.
• Observer is a registered pharmacist or registered nurse with medicines management authority — not a peer student.
• Observer feedback is specific — 'good communication' is not specific; 'patient opened the inhaler correctly after the demonstration and repeated the device care instructions back accurately' is.

Common mistakes

• Counselling session conducted without a registered professional observer.
• Framework summary that describes the principle of counselling without listing the specific components to cover.
• Observer feedback that is generic and does not name a specific area for improvement.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Ask the student to demonstrate the first two components of the counselling framework for a named medicine.
• Check that observer feedback includes a specific area for improvement.
• Ask what the student would do if a patient said they couldn't remember to take their medicine every day.

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Proof required

Submit your counselling logbook with 10 anonymised entries, each countersigned by the supervising registered professional. At least 4 different medicine types must be represented.

What gets checked

• All 10 entries are countersigned by a registered pharmacist or registered nurse.
• At least 4 different medicine types are represented — 10 entries all for the same drug class does not demonstrate counselling breadth.
• Patient questions section is completed for each entry — if 'no questions raised' appears on all 10, the patient was not given adequate opportunity to ask.

Common mistakes

• All 10 encounters for the same medicine type — variety across medicine types is a specific requirement.
• Patient questions field blank on all entries — this field cannot be left blank; even 'no questions raised after open invitation' must be recorded.
• Patient identifiers not fully anonymised.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Ask the student what counselling points are specific to one of the medicine types in their logbook.
• Check that at least 4 different medicine types are represented.
• Verify full anonymisation across all 10 entries.

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Proof required

Submit the completed assessment form with the assessor's marks and written comments, plus your 1-page reflection on the assessment: what went well, what the feedback identified, and what you will do differently in the next counselling session.

What gets checked

• Assessment is formal and uses a structured tool — not just 'supervisor says it was good'.
• Medicine chosen presents real counselling challenges — paracetamol for a healthy adult is not a challenging counselling case.
• Reflection identifies a specific improvement action — 'I will do better' is not a specific action; 'I will practice the inhaler device technique with a placebo inhaler before my next counselling session' is.

Common mistakes

• Assessment without a structured marking tool — feedback that is narrative only does not constitute a formal assessed session.
• Medicine chosen is too straightforward — the assessment must challenge the student's counselling skills.
• Reflection that is self-congratulatory without engaging with the feedback received.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Confirm the assessment used a structured marking tool — ask to see the tool.
• Ask what the most challenging aspect of the counselling session was.
• Check that the reflection identifies a specific, implementable improvement action.

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.