How to help a patient quit smoking
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
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
Ask
Ask every patient about smoking and vaping at every visit, and record it. [1]
Advise
Give clear, personal advice, for example that quitting is the best thing they can do for their lungs. [1]
Assess readiness
Ask if they are willing to try to quit in the next month. [1]
Assist with a plan
Set a quit date, plan for triggers and offer medicine plus counseling. [1]
Offer medicines
Combined nicotine replacement (patch plus gum or lozenge) or varenicline work best. Bupropion is another option. [2]
Connect to support
Refer to the free quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or a local program. [3]
Arrange follow-up
Check in within the first week after the quit date. Slips are common, so plan to try again. [1]
Common errors
- Not asking about smoking at every visit.
- Giving advice without offering medicine.
- Treating a relapse as failure.
Practice it in Making Synapses
In Making Synapses 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.
Making Synapses cases that train this skill
- COPD with pneumonia
- COPD exacerbation
- Abdominal pain, ruptured aortic aneurysm
- Stable angina
- Atherosclerosis risk visit
- Peripheral artery disease
23 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
- AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs)
- Open RN, Nursing Pharmacology 2e (CC BY 4.0)
- 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). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.