Prompt: Goals of Care Consultation Preparation

Goals of Care Consultation Preparation

Use this prompt before a goals of care conversation to help you prepare — not to script what should always remain a human, responsive exchange.

I am preparing for a goals of care conversation. Please help me prepare.

Clinical context:
- Patient: aged [[patient_age — e.g. "71"]], with 
  [[diagnosis — e.g. "advanced lung cancer"]]
- Treatment history: [[treatment_history — e.g. 
  "two prior lines of systemic treatment; disease now progressing"]]
- Family context: [[family_context — e.g. 
  "adult son attends appointments and has been asking directly about 
  further treatment options"]]
- What has already been said: [[prior_conversations — e.g. 
  "patient is aware disease is not curable; has not yet discussed 
  moving to a palliative focus"]]

Please provide:
1. A list of questions the patient and family are most likely to raise, 
   grouped by topic
2. A suggested structure for the conversation, with approximate timing 
   for a 30-minute appointment
3. Plain-language wording for explaining what a palliative care approach 
   focuses on — without language that implies abandoning the patient

Do not include clinical recommendations or any reference to prognosis 
or likely timelines.

Why this works

Providing what has already been said prevents the tool from suggesting you cover ground that would confuse or contradict prior conversations. Asking for plain-language wording for the palliative care explanation addresses one of the hardest parts of this consultation — giving the tool a specific, bounded writing task that you can then shape into your own words.

How to tweak it

• To focus specifically on the family's questions rather than the patient's, change the request to: "Focus particularly on the questions the family member is likely to raise, and how to respond to them clearly while keeping the patient at the centre of the conversation."
• To prepare for a patient who has expressed that they do not wish to discuss certain aspects of their illness, add: "The patient has said she does not wish to discuss [[topic — e.g. 'timelines or statistics']]. Please reflect this in your suggested structure."

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