Effective communication is vital to constructing an aCcuate and detailed patient
history- A patient’s health or illness is influenced by many factors, including age,
gender, ethnicity, and environmental setting- As an advanced practice nuse, you
must be aware of these factors and tailor you communication techniques accordingly-
Doing so will not only help you establish rapport with you patients, but it will also
enable you to more effectively gather the information needed to assess you patients’
health risks-
For this Discussion, you will take on the role of a clinician who is building a health
history for one of the following new patients:
76-year-old Black/African-American male with disabilities living in an uban setting
Adolescent Hispanic/Latino boy living in a middle-class subub
55-year-old Asian female living in a high-density poverty housing complex
Pre-school aged white female living in a rual community
16-year-old white pregnant teenager living in an inner-city neighborhood
To prepae:
Consider the following:
How would you communication and interview techniques for building a health history
differ with each patient?
How might you target you questions for building a health history based on the
patient’s age, gender, ethnicity, or environment?
What risk assessment instruments would be appropriate to use with each patient?
What questions would you ask each patient to assess his or her health risks?
Select one patient from the list above on which to focus for this Discussion-
Identify any potential health-related risks based upon the patient’s age, gender,
ethnicity, or environmental setting that should be taken into consideration-
Select one of the risk assessment instruments or another tool with which you are
familiar, related to you selected patient.
Develop at least five targeted questions you would ask you selected patient to
assess his or her health risks and begin building a health history-
Post a description of the interview and communication techniques you would use with
you selected patient- Explain why you would use these techniques- Identify the risk
