The patient holds the answers in Listening Part A

Imagine you are speaking to a patient. You ask them to tell you about their recent history,  symptoms and concerns. While you listen, you take notes of what they are saying to you. You don’t write down everything you hear. Instead you include the most important points which will help you to decide the best treatment route for them. Some of what they say you simplify into medical language because this is what is most familiar to you.

This is essentially a Listening Part A task. What you are reading are the healthcare professional’s notes. What you are listening to is the patient answering the professional’s questions and providing their own information. There will be a lot of words that are the same but occasionally, they will express something in words familiar to them which are written differently in the notes.

Understanding this can help you follow the notes provided so you can keep track of the recording during each Listening Part A consultation. It can also avoid confusion when the patient uses slightly different language to the professional’s notes.