297Then the class discusses the following: What are ineffective ways to give advice?
What are effective ways to give advice? The instructor summarizes their responses
on the board.
Estimated time: 15–20 min.
Activity 2a: Low-Level Advice and Influencing Skills Model
The instructor and a volunteer genetic counseling patient engage in a role-play in
which the counselor demonstrates poor advice giving and influencing responses.
Students observe and take notes of examples of poor behaviors.
Estimated time: 10 min.
Process
Students discuss their examples of poor behaviors and the impact of the counselor’s
poor skills on the patient. The patient can offer her or his impressions of the coun-
selor’s behaviors after the other students have made their comments. The instructor
could divide the group of students and have half focus on counselor behaviors and
half focus on patient behaviors.
Estimated time: 15 min.
Instructor Notes
- One option is to continue with a role-play used earlier in the class so the genetic
counselor can more quickly move to advice and influencing skills. - Students may have difficulty differentiating advice from influencing skills, as
advice is often accompanied by an influencing response. The instructor should
assist students in categorizing the responses they observe in the role-play. One
issue that may come up is the genetic counselor’s intended response may be
perceived differently by the patient and/or the observers.
Activity 2b: High-Level Advice and Influencing Skills Model
The instructor and the same volunteer repeat the same role-play, only this time the
genetic counselor displays good advice and influencing skills. Students take notes
of examples of good behaviors.
Estimated time: 15 min.
Process
Students discuss their examples of good advice and influencing behaviors and the
impact of the counselor’s behaviors on the patient. They also contrast this role-play
to the previous role-play. The instructor could divide the group of students and have
half focus on counselor behaviors and half focus on patient behaviors.
Estimated time: 15 min.