John Launer: The pluripotent consultation

Every time I teach, I try to introduce an exercise I’ve never done before. I hope this ensures that people are less likely to be bored if they’ve already been to one of my workshops, but it also keeps me on my toes. Occasionally I try out things that are quite risky. I did this recently when teaching GP residents about uncertainty in the consultation. I’d realised that the day was my late mother’s birthday, so I started my presentation by putting up a slide of her in her 50s, looking rather thoughtful. I explained who she was and gave the …