The second installment of our Physician-Patient Communication (PPC) course started on Thursday. Over break we were able to view our new groups and also see the schedule for the patient interviews. I was surprised to see that I was scheduled for the first week back, but excited nonetheless.
So what separates this round of interviews from the last one, is that this time we will be focusing on social history questions. My classmates will be asking questions regarding employment status, family, health-behaviors: smoking, drinking, exercising, hobbies/interests etc. The interview set-up for this class is kind of strange because we're asked to interview the person for at least 20 minutes, with our fellow group-mates watch in the background. To give you a perspective, it feels like a first date that all your friends get to watch.
My interview went very well, and I had quite an interesting patient. He had been hospitalized many times in his life, and was a real daredevil. He told me that his real passions in life are demolition derbies, and after admitting to him that I knew next to nothing about them, his eyes lit up as he began to explain them. Now I know that there are "winners" in demolition derbies.
After the interview, my group and preceptor went back to a conference room to discuss the interview. We talked about the barriers we have to overcome in asking difficult questions. For a lot of us who came straight from undergrad, it's strange to ask people who are older than us how much alcohol they consume, or how many sexual partners they've had. We're still trying to figure out our authority; I'm sure it will take a little bit of time.
Haha thanks for the encouragement!
Posted by: Julia | 01/19/2012 at 02:08 PM
I bet you will continue to be as successful as ever and improve on every step forward!
Posted by: G. London | 01/17/2012 at 04:36 AM