Beginning the Interview
Hello... Good morning... How are you?
My name is Nehal Gaber
I’m a 1st year medical student
And I’m sent to you today by my senior doctor in order to take your history
Is that okay for you? / Is that all right?
Is the room private enough for you?
I just want to ensure you that whatever you gonna say or whatever gonna
happen here will stay between me, you, and my senior doctor. Ok?
Are you happy to go ahead? u
Information Gathering & Content of Interview
Ok. So first of all, what’s your name?
I’m going to ask you some questions, is that Ok with you?
How old are you Mr. (...)?
What’s your occupation (what’s your job)?
Are you married Mr. (...)?
Could you please tell me what problem brought you here to the hospital?
� if the answer was a diagnosis rather than a symptom,
Ask: can you tell me what symptoms you have?
� If the answer was a symptom (specially pain),
Ask:
● When exactly the pain started? And how? (did it appear suddenly or
gradually?)
● When does it occur exactly during the day?
● How often the pain occurs? (Does it come and go or it’s always
there?) And how it ends?
● How long does the pain last?
● Can you show me where the pain is exactly Mr. (...)?
● Does the pain radiate? (Does the pain spread to other places in your
body?)
● Can you describe the pain for me please Mr. (...)? (What exactly do
you feel? What is the pain like?)
» Sharp
» Dull
» Tight
» Throbbing
» Burning sensation
● Now I want to know more about the severity of your pain, so can
you tell me how bad is it? (if I asked you Mr. (...) to rate your pain
for me from 1 to 10; 1 being the lowest (least severe) and 10 being
the highest (most severe), what would it be?
● Is there anything you do and makes your pain worse?
● Is there anything that makes it better?
● When you had this pain, Mr. (...), did you have any other symptoms
at the time?
» For example, the associated symptoms of stomach pain
are: diarrhea/constipation/vomiting...etc.
● Perhaps Mr. (...) you could tell me what you think is causing your
problem?
● And what concerns you most about your problem or pain?
● Other than treatment of course, what do you expect from us, Mr.
(...)?
● So I’m going now to ask you a series of questions about common
medical problems, just to make sure we don't miss anything that
may be important. Ok?
» Do you have headaches?
» Do you experience any visual problems/hearing
problems?
» Do you face difficulties in breathing? Coughing? (Is there
any sputum or blood present?)
» Do you experience any chest pain? Palpitations? Do your
ankles ever swell?
» Do you face any problems when moving? Muscle aches?
» Do you have problems during urination? Any pain?
Burning sensation? Abnormal colour or smell?
Now I'd like to ask you about any serious illnesses/medical problems you've had in
the past, like diabetes or hypertension. Could you tell me about these?
Did you go to the hospital recently for any visits?
Have you had any operations/surgeries? Have you had any accidents or injuries?
Are you on any medications?
Do you have any certain allergy?
Do you have any family member who complains from the same pain? Is there a
family history of any specific disease/chronic disease?
If the patient is married: Can I ask you please, Mr. (...), since you are married, how is
your marriage life going? Is everything well? Is there any problem you want to tell
me about?
Do you have any family problems?
What about your job? Any worries about finance?
I’d like to ask you Mr. (...), if you don’t mind, a couple of sensitive questions. Is that
Ok with you?
Do you smoke?
» If the patient smokes: Since when are you smoking? How many packets of
cigarettes do you smoke per day? Are you planning to stop smoking?
» If the patient is a non-smoker: Did you smoke in the past? How long?
Do you drink alcohol?
» If yes: How many times per day/week? Are you planning to stop drinking?
Can you tell me please, Mr. (...), about your daily diet/nutrition? What do you eat in a
normal day?
Do you do any physical activity? How often?
SUMMARY (don’t state the points that the patient said No to it).
