Advanced Practice - Venous —
Training activity: 10

Details

Communicate findings of venous scans to:

• The multidisciplinary team
• A patient

Type

Entrustable training activity (ETA)

Evidence requirements

Evidence the activity has been undertaken by the trainee repeatedly, consistently, and effectively over time, in a range of situations. This may include occasions where the trainee has not successfully achieved the outcome of the activity themselves. For example, because it was not appropriate to undertake the task in the circumstances or the trainees recognised their own limitations and sought help or advice to ensure the activity reached an appropriate conclusion. ​

Reflection at multiple timepoints on the trainee learning journey for this activity.

Considerations

• Patient centred care and support
• Communication of results
• Roles of various members of the wider multidisciplinary team
• Treatment options and pathways for patients
• Patient experience
• Local and national guidelines
• Adapting communication to the audience

Reflective practice guidance

The guidance below is provided to support reflection at different time points, providing you with questions to aid you to reflect for this training activity. They are provided for guidance and should not be considered as a mandatory checklist. Trainees should not be expected to provide answers to each of the guidance questions listed.

Before action

What does success look like?

• Identify what is expected of you in relation to successfully communicating venous scan findings to both the multidisciplinary team (MDT) and patients.
• Consider how the learning outcomes apply, specifically in relation to identifying and communicating scan results and summarising treatment pathways.
• Discuss with your training officer to gain clarity of what is expected of you in relation to successful communication strategies for different audiences, including managing patient questions about treatment options.

What is your prior experience of this activity?

• Think about what you already know about effective communication strategies, adapting language for different audiences, and summarising complex findings for clinical decision-making.
• Consider possible challenges you might face during the activity, such as delivering sensitive news (e.g., acute DVT), managing patient anxiety about chronic disease outcomes, explaining complex pathology simply, or responding to specific technical questions from the MDT.
• Recognise the scope of your own practice for this activity i.e. know when you will need to seek advice or help, and from whom. You will need to seek advice from your Training Officer when required, for example for very sensitive cases (e.g., life-threatening DVT), highly complex results requiring specialist input, or managing difficult patient reactions.
• Acknowledge how you feel about embarking on this communication activity.

What do you anticipate you will learn from the experience?

• Consider the specific skills you want to develop, such as active listening, empathetic explanation of sensitive findings, and clear summarisation of clinical implications and treatment pathways.
• Identify the specific insights you hope to gain into the impact of effective communication on patient understanding and adherence and collaboration within the MDT.

What additional considerations do you need to make?

• Consult actions identified following previous experiences of patient or team communication (e.g., improving clarity or managing time).
• Identify important information you need to consider before embarking on the activity, such as the patient’s specific diagnosis, relevant treatment pathways (medical, endovascular, surgical), and clarifying the expected next steps for the patient.

In action

Is anything unexpected occurring?

• Are you noticing anything surprising or different from what you anticipate whilst communicating findings of venous scans to the multidisciplinary team or a patient?
• Are you encountering situations such as:
  • The patient expresses severe anxiety or denial when informed of a critical finding (e.g., acute DVT), complicating the sensitive communication process?
  • A clinician from the MDT asks a highly specific, complex question about venous haemodynamics or long-term prognosis that requires in-depth physiological knowledge?

How are you reacting to the unexpected development?

• How is this impacting your actions? For example, are you responding to the situation appropriately? Are you adapting or changing your approach to communication style, empathy, or technical detail provided?
• Consider the steps you are taking in the moment, such as:
  • Immediately shifting to an empathetic and supportive communication style to manage patient distress and anxiety
  • Pausing to summarise treatment options clearly before proceeding with complex pathological details for the MDT
• How are you feeling in that moment? For instance, are you finding it difficult to manage the emotional response while maintaining professional composure? Is it affecting your confidence in conveying the critical next steps effectively?

What is the conclusion or outcome?

• Identify how you are working within your scope of practice. For example, are you successfully conveying the diagnosis and summarising immediate treatment pathways clearly to both parties? Or are you needing support because the patient refuses treatment based on the communicated findings or the MDT question requires specialist consultation beyond your current scope?
• What are you learning as a result of the unexpected development? For example, are you mastering compassionate communication strategies for sensitive findings? Or gaining insight into the MDT’s specific informational needs regarding complex venous haemodynamics?

On action

What happened?

• Begin by summarising the key points of communicating the venous scan findings, specifying the audience (MDT or patient) and the main points conveyed (e.g., DVT diagnosis, insufficiency findings, treatment summary).
• Consider specific events, actions, or interactions which felt important, such as managing patient questions about prognosis, MDT discussions about treatment pathways, or challenges in explaining complex information, and your own feelings about the interaction.
• Include any ‘reflect-in-action’ moments where you had to adapt to the situation as it unfolded, for instance, immediately simplifying the explanation of reflux duration using an analogy when the patient appeared confused or adjusting terminology for the MDT discussion.
• How did you feel during this experience, e.g., did you feel confident in tailoring the complex explanation or stressed by the need to manage patient anxiety?

How has this experience contributed to your developing practice?

• Identify what learning you can take from communicating these findings. What strengths did you demonstrate, e.g., compassionate communication when delivering sensitive findings or tailoring information for different audiences?
• What skills and/or knowledge gaps were evident, e.g., unfamiliarity with the specific details of all treatment pathways or difficulty managing patient questions about potential complications?
• Compare this experience against previous engagement with similar activities – were any previously identified actions for development achieved? Has your practice improved in explaining treatment pathways and prognosis clearly?
• Identify any challenges you experienced, such as needing to seek advice or clarification on scope of practice regarding how to best phrase sensitive information or escalating a communication to ensure comprehension, and how you reacted to this.

What will you take from the experience moving forward?

• Identify the actions or ‘next steps’ you will now take to support the assimilation of what you have learnt, including from any feedback you have received, with regards to improving tailored communication strategies for venous findings.
• What will you do differently next time you communicate venous scan findings, for instance, by proactively preparing simplified language or visual aids to explain complex haemodynamic concepts to patients.
• Do you need to practise any aspect of the activity further, such as role-playing difficult conversations or key learning outcomes related to explaining complex medical concepts in simple terms?

Beyond action

Have you revisited the experiences?

• How have your subsequent experiences of communicating venous scan findings to patients and the MDT since completing this specific training activity led you to revisit your initial approach or decisions during that activity? For example, how an instance where a subsequent patient required compassionate counselling following an acute DVT diagnosis forced you to re-evaluate the sensitivity and clarity of the phrasing you applied during your first attempt at delivering sensitive results.
• Considering what you understand about compassionate communication, tailoring explanations, and managing emotional responses now, were the actions or considerations you identified after your initial reflection on this training activity sufficient? How have you since implemented or adapted improvements in your communication strategies based on further learning and experiences? For example, how you proactively integrated simplified analogies to explain venous reflux and treatment options (e.g., radiofrequency ablation) to patients, demonstrating you have adapted improvements based on further learning.
• Has discussing challenging communication scenarios (e.g., managing patient denial, answering complex MDT questions about treatment) or the impact of miscommunication on patient adherence with colleagues, peers, or supervisors changed how you now view your initial experience in this training activity? For example, how professional storytelling with a senior colleague about a communication failure that led to a patient discontinuing anticoagulation refined your understanding of the critical nature of effective patient education and rapport building.

How have these experiences impacted upon current practice?

• How has the learning from this initial training activity, in combination with subsequent communication experiences, contributed to your overall confidence and competence in identifying and communicating venous scan results to both patients and the multidisciplinary team, particularly in preparing for assessments like Observed Clinical Events (OCEs)? For example, how your accumulated ability in managing sensitive conversations now enables you to confidently explain results of a scan to a patient or discuss treatment options with a colleague during an OCE assessment.
• How has reflecting back on this specific training activity, combined with everything you’ve learned since, shaped your current approach to communicating findings of venous scans? How does this evolved understanding help you identify when something is beyond your scope of practice or requires escalation? For example, how your evolved approach means you now routinely seek advice immediately when a patient’s emotional distress is too severe to manage independently or the MDT question requires specialist consultation beyond your current expertise.
• Looking holistically at your training journey, how has this initial communication of venous scan findings experience, revisited with your current perspective, contributed to your development in meeting the objectives related to identifying and communicating scan results and summarising the treatment pathways? For example, how this foundational experience has supported your development in tailoring explanations using simplified, compassionate language.

Relevant learning outcomes

#	Outcome
# 7	Outcome Identify and communicate the scan results to patients and the multidisciplinary team.
# 8	Outcome Summarise the treatment pathways for lower limb venous disease.