Postgraduate Research Bursaries 2004-2005

Doctor versus epilepsy specialist nurse opinion at first seizure presentation

Mel Goodwin

Epilepsy Specialist Nurse, Northampton General Hospital

Within my practice as an epilepsy specialist nurse I receive direct patient referrals from hospital physicians and GPs. These referrals are for a variety of reasons to do with epilepsy, but as I become better known in the locality, the referrals are sometimes for advice about whether someone has epilepsy or not. This project will compare the diagnosis reached by the epilepsy specialist nurse (ESN) compared to the neurologist at first seizure presentation to see if we agree.

The patient will be invited to take part by letter and if they agree will be randomly allocated to see the nurse or doctor first. The patient will see both the nurse and doctor and audio taped interviews will be carried out. The patient will also have the opportunity to tell us how they felt about the interview with the nurse and the doctor. The information will then be compared and analysed.