Interview :

Collecting Subjective Data

Miguel Paolo A. Galang, RN, MD

Objectives
 Determine the importance of the interview
process to elicit accurate and meaningful
information

 Learn
verbal and nonverbal forms of
communication through examples

 Identify
certain considerations during the
interview process

 Learn different medical terminologies

Communication
- A dynamic process used to gather data, to
teach and persuade and express caring and
comfort.

Verbal Communication
- Transmission of messages through words
and language, either spoken or written.

Nonverbal Communication
- Transmission of messages without the use
of words.
Therapeutic Communication

- facilitates the establishment of the nurse-

patient relationship for the creation of a
beneficial outcome for the client.

Medical Terminologies

- vocabulary for accurately describing the

human body, associated components,
conditions , processes in a science-based
manner.
 Interview
 Main purpose : to encourage an interchange of
information

 Gather data (organized, complete and accurate)

 Establish rapport

 Provides an avenue for teaching and health

promotion
 Phases
Introductory
 Introduces self
 Explains purpose of interview
 Discusses the type of questions
 Developing rapport depends heavily on
verbal and nonverbal communication on
the part of the nurse
Working
 Elicits :
(Biographic data, reasons for seeking care,
history of present health concern, past health
history, family history, review of body systems,
health practices, developmental level)

 Listens, observes cues, uses critical thinking

skills, interprets and validate information

 Nurse-Patient Collaboration -> Problems and

Goals
Summary and Closing
 Summarizes Information obtained
 Validates problems and goals
 Identifies and discusses possible plans
 Ask about any other concerns
Communication During
Interview
Verbal and Nonverbal
Nonverbal Communication
Appearance
Demeanor
Facial Expression
Attitude
Silence
Appearance
 Look the part, be professional
 Comfortable clothes, clean white gown
or neat uniform
 Name tag and credentials
 Hairstyle
 Jewelry - minimal
Demeanor
 Display Poise
 Focus on the client and upcoming
interview and assessment
 Greet calmly
 Do not be overwhelmingly friendly or
“touchy”
Facial Expression
 Keep a close check on your facial
expressions
 Neutral* and friendly expressions
 If you cannot hide effectively, explain
your personal reason
 Admitting to the client  trusting
relationship, genuine rapport
Attitude
 Nonjudgmental attitude
 All patients accepted (regardless of
beliefs, ethnicity, lifestyle and health
care practices)
 Do not act superior, shocked, disgusted
or surprised
 Avoid preaching (e.g. smoking
behaviors, alcoholism)
Silence
 Allows reflection and organization of
thoughts
 Facilitates accurate reporting and data
collection
Listening
 Most important skill to learn (Active and
Passive)
 Good eye contact
 Listening effectively  open mind
 Avoid crossing arms, sitting back, tilting
your head away
 FOCUS
Verbal Communication
 Open-Ended Questions
 Close-Ended Questions
 Laundry List
 Rephrasing
 Well-Placed Phrases
 Inferring
 Providing Information
Open- Ended Questions
 Client’sfeelings and perceptions
 These require more than a one-word
response
 “How” or “What”

E.g. “ How have you been feeling lately?”

Close-ended Questions
 Obtain specific information
 “When” and “did”
 Useful for keeping interview on course

“When did the nausea start?”

Laundry List
 Obtain specific answers
 Helps quantify
 Reduces likelihood of the client providing
expected answer

“Is the pain severe, dull, sharp, mild, cutting

or piercing?”
“Does the pain occur once every year, day,
month, or hour?”
Rephrasing
 Helps clarify information the client has stated
 Enables nurse and patient to reflect on what was
said

E.g. Mr. Tak Ot-Sia, tells you that he has been really
tired and nauseated for 2 months and that he is
scared because he fears he has some horrible
disease

 “You are thinking that you have a serious illness?”

Well-Placed Phrases
 Encourages the patient to verbalize
more
 Reassures the patient that you are
listening

 “Uh-hum”
 “Go on”
 “Yes”
 “I agree”
Inferring
 What the patient tells you + patient’s behavior

 E.g. : Mrs. Masa Kit, tells you that she has bad
pain
 Nurse : Where is the pain?
 Patient: Stomach + holds right side of her lower
abdomen

 “ It seems you have more difficulty with the

right side of your stomach”
Providing Information
 Provide patient with answers as
questions and concerns arise
 Answer each question as well as you
can
 If you do not know the answer, explain
that you will find out for the patient
 Do not invent/pretend you know the
answer for the sake of saving face 
decreases trust and rapport
Communication to Avoid
Nonverbal communication to avoid
 Excessive or Insufficient Eye Contact
 Distraction and Distance
 Standing

Verbal Communication to avoid

 Biased or leading questions
 Rushing through the interview
 Reading the questions
Therapeutic Communication Techniques
 Offering Self
Making self available and showing
interest or concern
“I will walk with you”
 Active Listening

Pay close attention, observe verbal and

nonverbal cues
 Exploring
“Tell me more…"
Therapeutic Communication Techniques
 Giving Broad Openings
“What do you want to talk about
today?”
 Silence
 Stating the Observed

“You sound angry”

 Voicing doubt
“I find it hard to believe…”
Therapeutic Communication Techniques
 Encouraging Comparison
 Summarizing

 Seeking Clarification
 Asking Questions
 Therapeutic Communication
 Empathy

Recognizing and acknowledging patient’s

feelings
 Focusing

“Let us talk about your father more…”

 Limit Setting
Non-Therapeutic Techniques
 Overloading/Underloading

 Value Judgments
 Incongruence

 False Reassurance
 Invalidation
Non-Therapeutic Techniques
 Focusing on Self
 Changing the Subject
 Internal Validation

Making an assumption about the meaning of

someone else’s behavior that is not validated by
another person

 Giving Advice
Special Considerations
Gerontologic Variations
 Assess hearing acuity. Hearing loss may be
misinterpreted as mental slowness or
confusion (Speak on the side of the better
ear)

 Elderly have more health concerns

 Speak clearly and be straight forward.

Gerontologic Variations
 Ask
questions in simple terms. Avoid
medical jargons and modern slang.

 Always show respect.

 Havinga significant other present is

important to provide or clarify the data
Ethnical/Cultural Variations
 Reluctance to reveal personal information
to strangers
 Willingness to openly express emotional
distress or pain
 Ability to receive information
 Meaning conveyed by language
Ethnical/Cultural Variations
 Use and meaning of nonverbal
communication : eye contact, stance,
gestures and demeanor
 Disease/Illness Perception
 Past, Present or Future Time Orientation
 Family’s Role in the Decision Making
Process
Emotional Variations
 Scared or Anxious – Health condition or
Disclosing
 Angry- for being sick/examination
 Depressed
Medical Terminologies
 Prefixes

Brachi/o - Arm
Cardi/o – Heart
Cyt/o – Cell
Derm/a/o/ato – Skin
Encephal/o –Brain
Gastr/o – Stomach
Hist/o/io – Tissue
Intestin/o - Intestine

Lapar/o – Abdomen
My/o – Muscle
A- without
Mono/Uni - One
Bi – Two
Tri – Three
Ab - away
Ad – Toward
Ecto/Exo –Outside
Endo – Inside
Epi – Upon/Around
Ambi – both
Dys – bad, painful, ifficult
Eu – good or normal
Homo – same
Iso – equal/ same
Mal – Bad/poor
Acou – Hearing
Aden – gland
Adip – fat
Angio – Blood vessel
Pyrexia - Fever
Genu – Knee
Pectoral -Chest
Steato – fatty
Pyo – Pus
Ankyl – bent
Suffixes
-algia – pain
-emia – blood
-itis – inflammation
-lysis – breakdown
-opathy – disease
-pnea – breathing
-oid – like
-tension – pressure
-ostomy – to create an opening
-otomy – cutting/incision
-uria - urine
-esis – state/condition/
disease
-hidrosis – sweat
-somn - sleep
-megaly - enlargement
Objectives
 Identify the components of a patient’s subjective
data

 Know the purpose of an interview and its phases

 Learn
verbal and nonverbal forms of
communication through examples

 Familiarize
self with communication errors and
how to avoid them