The contraceptive consultation differs across international healthcare systems in relation to the setting, scope of practice, provider-responsibility and the available time frame. The key to a successful consultation is to ensure that the patient leaves with their contraceptive needs met, either with the immediate provision of a contraceptive method or a plan for initiation at a specified future date. This chapter provides guidance on how to fulfill this outcome. In a generalist setting, posters inviting patients to discuss sexual health issues, brochures on contraception and information on confidentiality may be of assistance in setting the scene for the consultation. Where time is limited, an effective contraception consultation lies in its shaping. There are a variety of tools ranging from websites to models that can be useful to support a contraceptive consultation. The chapter presents cases, which illustrate approaches and principles in a sample of contraceptive consultations across the reproductive lifespan.

The healthcare professions have evolved over time, and consequently professional responsibilities have changed and become more technical in nature. Professionalism has a long history of being based on a defined set of values, and during the twentieth century professional autonomy was clearly the most important value among the healthcare professions, particularly among physicians. The practice of professionalism can provide continuity and enable healthcare providers to assist their colleagues and patients during a time of shifting professional values. Values provide the basis for developing a framework for the new professionalism of the twenty-first century, developed from the perspective of all four entities involved, including the healthcare provider, the individual patient, the healthcare system and society as a whole. Healthcare practitioners will place an emphasis on social justice and solidarity with patients and society, and honour and integrity will be the hallmarks of the new professionalism.