Quick Guide to Focused Patient Interviews (Based on the Gold Standard of Stanford Patient Interview Checklist Used in Medical Schools)

1. Introduction (30 seconds)

  • Greet the patient warmly

  • Introduce yourself with name and role.

  • Confirm patient’s name

  • Ask for age, ethnicity, and sex

  • Ensure comfort and privacy.

2. Chief Complaint (CC)

  • Ask, “How are you feeling today?” or “What brings you here today”

  • Let the patient speak without interruption for 1-2 minutes.

  • Use active listening: nod, maintain eye contact, verbal affirmations (“I see,” “Go on” but not “ok” nor “interesting”).

3. History of Present Illness (HPI)
Use the OLDCARTS method:

  • Onset: When did it start?

  • Location: Where is the issue?

  • Duration: How long does it last?

  • Character: Describe the symptom (for example for pain: sharp, dull, pulsating, etc.).

  • Aggravating/Alleviating factors: What makes it worse/better?

  • Radiation: Does it spread or radiate anywhere?

  • Timing: Pattern over time? Are there specific times this issue occurs?

  • Severity: Rate the intensity (1-10), one being the least and 10 being the most (ex. closer to 10 for pain would be the most pain the patient has ever felt)

4. Past Medical History (PMH)

  • Major illnesses, hospitalizations, surgeries, pregnancies, STI (sexually transmitted infection)

  • Current medications and allergies.

  • Immunization status - ask about important vaccines like COVID, influenza, as well as childhood vaccinations

5. Family History (FH)

  • Ask about significant illnesses in close family (heart disease, diabetes, cancer of any kind, etc).

6. Social History (SH)

  • Occupation, living situation, marrital status, support system.

  • Lifestyle: smoking, alcohol, recreational drug use, exercise level, diet (what the patient’s daily diet usually consists of)

  • Any recent travels to overseas

  • Sexually active or not? How many partners in the last few months? Protection used or not (ask to be specific as to what was being used? Condoms?)?

7. Review of Systems (ROS)

  • Quick checklist of symptoms from head to toe (e.g., headaches, vision changes, chest pain, shortness of breath).

  • Go to All Necessary Forms Tab to open the detailed pdf checklist for the Review of Systems part of the patient interview

  • Ask 2-3 questions each for 5 systems of your choice based on what you are thinking

8. Physical Examination

  - Mention what kind of physical examination you would want to do based on patient information obtained (if you have prior knowledge on physical examinations)

  • If you don’t have knowledge on specific examinations and how they are done and you are doing a Mock Interview - Simply Ask - Your Time will be paused and will not be counted for this section

  - You won’t actually be doing a physical examination on this platform but there will be a low cost course that will allow you to learn the most important physical examinations and how to do them (TBA)

9. Summary & Closing

  • Summarize key points to confirm understanding of the patient

  • Ask, “Do you have any questions?” (A lot of the time, a patient may ask for your thoughts. Don’t give out a name of disease. Also your not allowed to make diagnoses yet before becoming doctor. Simply say that “I cannot be sure but I would like to do some tests (evaluations - Radiology (CT, X-Ray, MRI, Ultrasound), Blood Tests, Spinal Tap, Cultures, etc) so I can give you better understanding what’s going on."

  • If the patient asks about general health topics, you can answer them if you have knowledge on the topic as long as its not a drug, medication, or any advice that would go under the label of “medical advice” (you are not legally allowed to give that kind of advice before you become a licensed doctor)

  • For this interview (that’s where the patient interview concludes and your time is stopped and you give your farewells)

  • Make sure to thank the patient for their time

  • If you are doing a mock interview, you can now choose to ask questions to the upper year clinical/medical student/doctor who was until now posing as a patient

Key Tips When Interview Any Patient:

  • Be empathetic and non-judgmental.

  • Use open-ended questions first, then narrow down to close-ended questions

  • Maintain professionalism while being approachable

  • Be respectful

  • Don’t be a robot

  • Remember you are a human being not an AI app

  • Build a rapport with the patient. As a doctor it is a part of your job to earn the respect and trust of the patient.

  • One way to make sure your patient knows that he/she/they are being understood is by reflecting the content of what the patient is saying back to them in your own words

READ THIS

READ THIS