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Consultation Observation Tool (COT)
The Consultation Observation Tool (COT) is a structured assessment instrument used to evaluate a practitioner's ability to conduct effective and comprehensive consultations with patients. This tool involves the direct observation of a clinical consultation by a reviewer who evaluates the practitioner's communication skills, patient-centred care, clinical reasoning, and overall approach to managing the patient encounter.
The primary purpose of the COT is to assess how well practitioners, particularly those in advanced practice roles, gather patient history, conduct examinations, discuss treatment options, and ensure shared decision-making. It is a valuable tool for providing feedback on both the technical and interpersonal aspects of consultations, helping to improve the quality of patient interactions. COTs are commonly used in clinical education, professional development, and competency assessments to ensure that healthcare professionals are able to deliver high-quality, compassionate, and patient-focused care.
Use this template to:
✔️ Evaluate your own decision making, reasoning and application of skills
✔️ Record your progress and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) on the Centre for Advancing Practice Portal
Resource details
| Contributed by: | Centre for Advancing Practice |
| Authored by: |
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| Licence: | Creative commons: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International More information on licences |
| First contributed: | 26 March 2025 |
| Audience access level: | General user |
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