
No matter what your job title is, screening calls for a medical office or interviewing patients to get the correct information is a necessary part of your job in the medical field.
Assignment:
1. Review the following scenario:
- George Sweatstain, a 28 yo male patient of Dr. Finklestein's, called today to complain of a new back pain of uncertain etiology. It has grown steadily worse throughout the morning until it has become almost unbearable.
2. Imagine that your facility follows the same protocols as Schmitt-Thompson: Back Pain (PDF). Review these protocols because you will be using it in your mock video.
- Before you start your video, you will need to determine what questions, redirects, and followups you are going to use and what instructions you will leave with the patient before terminating the call. We suggest that you write these out before you start taping.
- Using the 8 general categories of HPI might help you ask the right questions, i.e. location, duration, severity, etc.
3. Ask someone to role-play with you.
- Instruct your partner that they are named George Sweatstain and that they have low back pain which is getting worse and have called the doctor. Your partner will not be using a script.
- Sit back to back as you conduct this "phone interview" so that you can't read each other's body language.
- Interview the "mock" patient using the protocol and the questions that you feel are relevant to obtain.
3. Videotape the role play and upload it to be graded.