Anne returns to see Nurse Heather in order to explore other areas of her health that she identified in the initial consultation as being preparation stage of her behaviour change. The audio below demonstrates this. It is intended as an example of a consultation in a practice using brief intervention adapted from health behaviour change (HBC) techniques.
Voice-over transcript
- Heather: Anne we spoke about how much alcohol you usually drink and we’ve worked the amount out to 10 units once every two weeks, would you say that’s about right?
- Anne: Yes that’s right I usually have 4 glasses of wine and 2 vodka and cokes when I have my night out every fortnight.
- Heather: We often talk about what might be the recommended limits for drinking, are you aware of what these might be?
- Anne: Thinking, I’m pretty sure it’s 14 units a week for women.
- Heather: You’re absolutely right 14 units is what is recommended for a woman to drink in a one week period; however there are also daily limits which should be around 2-3 units a day for women and it’s recommended that there should be at least 2 days in the week when no alcohol is drunk.
- Anne: Oh I wasn’t aware of that, I didn’t know there was a daily limit as well as a weekly limit, do you mean that I’m drinking more than I should; it’s only once a fortnight after all.
- Heather: Anne, although you are within the weekly recommended limits and you clearly have more than 2 days without alcohol, the amount you drink on one occasion could be putting you at risk Would you mind if together we explored whether there could be any risk?
- Anne: Well, no I don’t really mind, I’m just a bit shocked that I’m drinking more than I should be, as I said I thought what I drank was OK. It’s only once a fortnight and I really enjoy getting together with the girls on those Saturday nights, I wouldn’t want to give it up.
- Heather: Remember you are within your weekly limits which is great, so let’s have a closer look at your Saturday night with just a few questions, and then we can discuss it further, the last thing we want is for you to lose an important social outlet.
- Anne: Ok, let’s do it.
- Heather: Anne how often do you have 6 drinks or more on one occasion?
- Anne: Pretty much every second Saturday.
- Heather: How often during the last year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking?
- Anne: Never, I always remember what happened.
- Heather: How often during the last year have you failed to do what was normally expected of you because of your drinking?
- Anne: Well I’ll be honest; there have been 2 or 3 times over the past year when I’ve called off something that was planned, because I’ve felt a bit hung-over.
- Heather: Anne, Has a relative or friend, a doctor or other health worker been concerned about your drinking or suggested you cut down?
- Anne: Absolutely not!
- Heather: Anne, a score of 3 or more means that the amount you are drinking can be hazardous, your score is 3, what do you feel about that, do you think your life would improve in any way if you cut down the amount you drank?
- Anne: Well I’m quite shocked; I never thought there was any risk with the amount I drank, I mean other people drink much more, but that score has made me think, especially when you asked me that third question, I did stop and think, does this mean I should stop drinking altogether?
- Heather: Stopping drinking altogether is a decision only you can make; what I’m saying is that you can still have your nights out, still enjoy a drink but do so responsibly.
- Anne: What do you think I should do?
- Heather: Well let’s look at what you drink just now, you have 4 glasses of wine, each of those are around 2 units each, that’s 8 units; your 2 vodka’s are around 1 unit each.
Pulse point
The script for this example consultation should be reviewed prior to and after you listen to the audio. It demonstrates the skills that Nurse Heather is utilising within the scripted consultation with Anne.
Page last reviewed: 25 May 2020
