Interviewing and the Health History
The health history is a conversation with a purpose. In social conversation, you express your own needs and interests with responsibility only for yourself. The primary goal of the clinician–patient interview is to listen and improve the well-being of the patient through a trusting and supportive relationship. The interviewing process differs significantly from the format for the health history presented in Chapter 1. Both are fundamental to your work with patients but serve different purposes.
• The interviewing process