How to be good at taking history from the patient 😭some help
Getting a history is trying to color in the parts of a coloring book. You can gather information just by looking at a patient, their body language, and demeanor. When you start asking questions just start from the head and go to the toes: Neuro, cardiovascular, pulmonary, GI, Hepatic, Renal, ID, Heme, GYN (if applicable), Ortho. If you hear something odd or something you want to know more about, ask it when it comes up, don’t go back to it at the end. Also talk to the patient in terms they understand. Asking a patient if they have hypertension is useless, but asking if they have high blood pressure they’ll know.
The main reason of taking good history from patients is to establish therapeutic Relationship techniques
This goes without saying but characterize every symptom... thats a must
Be structured so you don’t miss anything. Also don’t forget to ask questions in a way which patients can respond to. Don’t ask “do you have a family history of myocardial infarction?”, ask “do you know if anyone in your family has had any heart problems? tell me about that”. Most importantly, build rapport and make the person feel safe and remember you aren’t talking to a patient you’re talking to a person.
