On Wednesday, in small groups, I was the first to try out our new "patient centered" interviewing skills on a real, live, standardized patient. It was very realistic, all the way down to what you'd find in a doctor's office and my white coat. Tough with 9 classmates + real doctor watching.
I forgot to make her comfortable during the introductions (she wanted to put her leg up on something), and failed to fully explore her worries concerning her injury (other than that, I did okay). Got to work on these open ended questions, using the patient's ideas to direct the flow of conversation. It's so strange after a year of asking very specific questions in the choppy manner of an EMT. Turns out you can actually get most of the same information more quickly and then additional helpful information as well if you just let the patient direct the flow. It won't always work, but it is pretty successful.
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