Talking with the patient

How to help a patient quit smoking

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

MD / DOPANursing (NCLEX)EMS (NREMT)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Quitting smoking is the most important thing many patients can do for their health. Even brief advice from a clinician raises quit rates.

Step by step

  1. Ask

    Ask every patient about smoking and vaping at every visit, and record it. [1]

  2. Advise

    Give clear, personal advice, for example that quitting is the best thing they can do for their lungs. [1]

  3. Assess readiness

    Ask if they are willing to try to quit in the next month. [1]

  4. Assist with a plan

    Set a quit date, plan for triggers and offer medicine plus counseling. [1]

  5. Offer medicines

    Combined nicotine replacement (patch plus gum or lozenge) or varenicline work best. Bupropion is another option. [2]

  6. Connect to support

    Refer to the free quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or a local program. [3]

  7. Arrange follow-up

    Check in within the first week after the quit date. Slips are common, so plan to try again. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

23 VMS cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs)
  2. Open RN, Nursing Pharmacology 2e (CC BY 4.0)
  3. AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit (Teach-Back)

Facts and steps follow AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs); AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit (Teach-Back). VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.