“S.E.E.D.S.” Un programma di insegnamento, supervisione e valutazione della consultazione medica nelle cure primarie

Background . The consultation is the most common diagnostic and therapeutic procedure, and it is the usual way in which primary care is delivered. Therefore it should be evaluated and taught as any medical procedure. In Italy little attention is paid to the management of the consultation, and as abroad clinicians and scholars usually consider clinical reasoning and communication in the consultation as two realms quite far away from one another. In this way the vision of the consultation as a complex encounter is lost. It is, therefore, necessary to teach clinical and communication competences together as one entity. Experience . An operational model of the consultation and the process of implementation of a teaching and evaluation program are described. Conclusion . The model is easy to teach and allows the evaluation of the consultation in a simple and direct way, enhancing reflection on the encounter and connecting clinical reasoning with communication skills.