It might help at this point to come up with a more formal definition of shared decision making.  Here is a definition taken from the work of Coulter and Collins, 2011.

Shared decision making (SDM) is...

“a process in which clinicians and patients work together to select tests, treatments, management or support packages, based on clinical evidence and the patient’s informed preferences. It involves the provision of evidence-based information about options, outcomes and uncertainties, together with decision support counselling and a system for recording and implementing patients’ informed preferences.”

Try this activity. What are the roles played by the healthcare worker and service user according to this definition?  Write your answers next to each. Do you want to return to your jigsaw to add any additional pieces at this stage?

*(Coulter and Collins 2011.)