Preparing for Endometriosis Counselling Consultations

The problem

Endometriosis consultations are among the most demanding in gynaecology. Patients often arrive after years of diagnostic delay, carrying a mix of relief, anger, grief, and uncertainty. They have questions about fertility, about surgery, about pain management, about what this means for their long-term health. Many have done extensive research and will challenge you.

You cannot prepare a bespoke briefing document before every one of these consultations. There is not time. So you rely on experience — which is usually sufficient, but occasionally you find yourself caught off-guard by a question you had not anticipated.

How AI helps

An AI tool can act as a thinking partner before a consultation. You describe the clinical scenario in non-identifiable terms — age range, stage of disease, presenting concerns — and ask the tool to list the questions this patient is likely to raise. You can then think through your answers before the appointment.

The tool can also help you draft a brief framework for the conversation: what to cover first, where to pause for questions, what to leave until a follow-up if the patient is overwhelmed. It is a structure to accept, reject, or adapt. The clinical judgement about how to actually run the consultation is entirely yours.

This is especially useful when you are seeing a patient with a combination of concerns you encounter less often — for example, someone with Stage IV endometriosis who also has a concurrent diagnosis of adenomyosis and is asking about fertility preservation alongside surgical planning.

A real example

Mr Rajesh is a consultant gynaecologist seeing a patient in her early thirties who has recently been diagnosed with deep infiltrating endometriosis. She has asked for a detailed counselling consultation and has indicated she is worried about her fertility. He has fifteen minutes before the appointment and wants to make sure he has covered the key areas.

He opens an AI tool and types:

I am preparing to counsel a patient in her early thirties with newly diagnosed 
deep infiltrating endometriosis. She has expressed concerns about fertility. 
List the questions she is most likely to ask during this consultation, 
grouped by topic. Do not include clinical recommendations.

The tool returns a list of around twenty questions, grouped under headings such as "understanding the diagnosis", "fertility and pregnancy", "surgical options", and "long-term management". Rajesh scans the list. Most he expected. Two he had not thought to prepare for — one about endometriosis and menopause, and one about the impact of surgery on bowel function. He thinks through his answers. The consultation runs smoothly.

Try it yourself

I am preparing to counsel a patient aged [[patient_age]] with [[condition — e.g. "stage III endometriosis"]]. Her main concerns are [[main_concerns — e.g. "fertility and pain management"]]. List the questions she is most likely to raise during this consultation. Group them by topic. Do not include clinical recommendations or treatment protocols.

Things to watch for

The tool generates general questions, not this patient's questions. It works from patterns in its training, not from anything specific to the individual in front of you. Treat its output as a starting checklist, not a prediction.

It may include questions that are not relevant to your practice. Filter the list with your clinical knowledge. Some questions it suggests may reflect healthcare systems or practices different from yours.

It does not know the patient's history. A patient who has already had two failed surgical procedures will ask very different questions from someone at diagnosis. The tool cannot account for that unless you tell it. The more specific the context you give (without identifying information), the more relevant the output.

Emotional complexity requires human judgement. The tool can list questions about grief, anger, and relationship impact. It cannot tell you how to handle the emotional register of the conversation. That remains entirely yours.

Remember: AI is a helpful assistant, not a clinician. You make the call.