The Consultation 2027: Timeless Skills for Modern Practice

Roger Neighbour qualified from King’s College, Cambridge, and St Thomas’ Hospital, and practised for 30 years as a GP in Hertfordshire. His 1986 book The Inner Consultation introduced the now-familiar terms summarising, safety-netting and housekeeping to the vocabulary of general practice. It was followed by The Inner Apprentice (about the trainer-trainee relationship) and The Inner Physician (about the role of the doctor’s own psychology on the clinical process).

Roger was an MRCGP examiner for many years, and the Chief Examiner for seven years. On retiring from clinical practice he was elected President of the RCGP from 2003 to 2006. An acknowledged authority on the general practice consultation, he continues to write, teach and lecture in the UK and worldwide, now working mainly with GP trainers and trainees. He was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to medical education.

Roger’s most recent book, Consulting in a Nutshell (2^nd edition, 2024), describes a simple but effective structure for the consultation, and is becoming established as a valuable aid to trainees preparing for the SCA component of the MRCGP exam.