The words to use
- Everyday role play
- An actor station set outside healthcare, with a customer, a neighbour or a friend, so it tests communication and values rather than knowledge.
- Non-apology
- A phrase that sounds like sorry but shifts the blame, such as "I'm sorry you feel like that" or "Sorry, but..."
- Duty of candour
- Being open and honest when something goes wrong: telling the person, apologising and putting it right. The Dental Schools Council lists it among the values for dentistry.
- Read-back
- Repeating an order, plan or instruction back to the person, so you both know it is right before you act on it.
