You are an FY2 in a GP surgery
Personal Details:
Name: Baby Evans (patient), Mr. and Mrs Evans (parents)
Age: 8 weeks
Medical Record:
Past medical history: Healthy baby, developing well.
Notes:
The parents of an 8-week-old baby have attended for his first routine childhood immunisations. They have expressed significant anxiety to the nurse about the number of vaccines and potential side effects.
Task:
Talk to the parents and explore their concerns about the vaccinations.
Opening Sentence: (As a couple) “Doctor, the nurse said you’d talk to us. We’re just very worried about giving our new baby all these injections at once. It seems like a lot for his little body to handle.”
Open History (to give freely): “He’s so tiny and perfect, we don’t want to make him sick. We’ve read a lot of things online about the side effects, and it’s really scared us.”
Cues to give: “What is in the vaccines? What are the side effects?”
ICE (Ideas, Concerns, Expectations):
Ideas: “We think it might be better to wait until he’s older, or maybe just give one vaccine at a time.”
Concerns: “What are the side effects? Will he get a high fever? We’re worried about more serious reactions we’ve read about.”
Expectation: “We want to understand what the vaccines are for and to be reassured that they are safe.”
How to Act: You are loving, anxious first-time parents. You are not aggressively anti-vaccine, but you are genuinely scared and have been influenced by online misinformation.
More History (only if asked): You are both pro-vaccine in principle, but the reality of injecting your tiny baby is overwhelming. You don’t have any specific religious or philosophical objections.
Social History: First-time parents.
Questions to ask:
“Why do they all have to be given at the same time?”
“Is it true they can cause autism?” (If the candidate doesn’t bring it up).
Opening & Validating Concerns:
Thank you for coming in and for being so open about your concerns. It is completely understandable to have questions. There is a lot of confusing information out there. What specific things have you read that are worrying you the most?
Have you read through more information about it? May I know where you read that?
ICE (Ideas, Concerns, Expectations):
What is your understanding of what vaccines do?
What is your single biggest fear about Leo having these injections today? What were you hoping to get from this conversation with me?
Thank you both for taking the time to talk this through. It is completely normal and, in fact, very sensible to ask questions about what we are giving your baby. It shows you are caring and conscientious parents. Let’s go through it all, and please, ask me anything you want.”
Addressing and answering the patient’s ICE:
You’re worried that it’s a lot for his small body to handle. It’s a common concern, but I can reassure you. A baby’s immune system is incredibly powerful and deals with thousands of germs every single day. The components in the vaccines are a tiny, tiny fraction of what their immune system handles effortlessly. The schedule is designed by experts and has been proven to be safe and effective for millions of babies worldwide.
Explain more:
At 8 weeks, we give the ‘6-in-1’ vaccine, which protects against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough, Polio, Hib, and Hepatitis B. We also give a vaccine against Rotavirus, which is a liquid he swallows, and a vaccine against Meningitis B. We give them at this age because this is when babies start to become vulnerable to these very serious, and sometimes fatal, diseases.”
You asked about side effects. The most common ones are redness and swelling where the injection was given, and some babies can become a bit grizzly or develop a mild fever. We recommend giving a dose of infant paracetamol after the vaccines to help with this. More serious reactions are incredibly rare, far rarer than the complications of the diseases themselves.
Answer the question about autism?
You may have read things online about a link to autism. I want to be very clear that this has been completely disproven. The original study that suggested a link was fraudulent and has been retracted. Numerous large-scale studies have shown no link whatsoever between vaccines and autism. The vaccines are one of the safest and most effective things we can do to protect your child’s health.
Give more information
I can give you a leaflet from the NHS website with more information about the childhood vaccination, when they should get it, and what the possible common side effects are.
Have I answered your questions?
Addressing ideas, concerns, and expectations. Clearly explain the common, mild side effects and how to manage them (paracetamol). Directly and firmly debunk the link to autism.
Provide clear, factual information and strong reassurance. Frame vaccination as a positive, protective act of parenting.
What is scenario testing? This is a classic health promotion and counselling station. It tests the candidate’s ability to handle vaccine hesitancy with empathy and clear, evidence-based information. The key is to build trust, validate the parents’ concerns without validating the misinformation, and provide confident reassurance to facilitate informed consent.