What is Signposting?

A Signposting statement introduces and draws attention to what you are about to say

• This allows you to progress from one section to another using transitional statement and includes the rationale for next section

Exercise: Before moving on, how do you think signposting benefits the patient and you? And in what situations would you use signposting?

Benefits of Signposting

1. Makes interview structure overtly clear to both you and your patient
2. Patient understands where the interview is going and why (reducing uncertainty)
3. Allows you to share your thoughts and needs with the patient

Examples

• When introducing our first summary: ‘Can I just check if I have understood you correctly? Let me know if I’ve missed anything…’
• ‘Since we haven’t met before, it’d be useful for me to learn something about your past medical history. Can we do that now?’
• ‘You mentioned two areas that are obviously important – first, your joint problems, and second, how you are going to cope with your children. Could I start by asking a few more questions about the joint pains, which would help me understand what’s causing them, and then we can come back to your difficulties with your children?’

Silverman, J., Kurtz, S., & Draper, J. (2013). Skills for Communicating with Patients (Thrid Edit). London: Radcliffe Publishing.