A large part of the work that EMS does is obtaining and documenting information obtained from patients and bystanders. In order to obtain, EMS must always endeavor to hone their interviewing skills. The interview starts with the patient checking out the resume of the EMS crew; the uniform. If the EMS crew shows up to a patients house looking disheveled and dirty, the patient probably be less forthcoming. What else would the patient have to go by?

The best way for EMS to start the interview is to introduce themselves to the patient. One medic asks questions while the the medic starts taking vital signs. Ensuring the patient feels secure the EMS crew will respect the patient’s privacy will go a long way towards getting the information necessary to figure out what is wrong with the patient. Securing the patient’s privacy might mean asking some people to leave the room or other people to stick around while the patient is being examined. Good scene management will ensure the interview/examination will go by uninterrupted.

If lighting is an issue, EMS has numerous options. They could move the patient to the patient compartment or bring lighting to the patient. Many times the ambulance is the best place to perform an examination/interview as it is relatively quiet in the back. Getting down to the patients level is very helpful (EMS personnel should be very comfortable on the floor). The patient should be warned before the EMS crew violates their body space. By saying, “would you mind if I took your blood pressure,” an EMS provider can breach the patients body space without making the patient defensive. If the patient is found in cold room, bring them to the heated ambulance. If the patient is found in a hot room, bring them to the air conditioned ambulance.

When the patient says something, one of the EMS personnel should be writing it down. The role of the ‘clipboard’ medic is extremely important. Asking open ended questions can be useful in the very beginning of the interview. An open ended question is a question that only the patient can answer with any word they choose to use. An example of an open ended question is:

“Would you tell us why we are here today, Mr. Jones?”

As the interview continues, it might be necessary to start asking more closed ended or direct questions. A closed ended question would be a question that only has 2 or 3 correct answers. An example of a closed ended question is:

“Have you ever had this type of problem before, Mrs. Smith?”

It is very easy to develop an easy interviewing style based on the SAMPLE history:

When interviewing patients, the EMS crew should avoid providing false assurance, giving advice, doing all the talking, interrupting the patient and the perennially annoying ‘why‘ question. EMS crews should refrain from giving advice to the patient.