The Medical Interview

Steven Cole, MD is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Emeritus at S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook Health Sciences Center. He has been awarded grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for clinical, disease management and educational work on depression in general medical settings. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and 30 book chapters, mostly related to psychiatric disorders in medical patients. https://webcampus.drexelmed.edu/doccom/db/assets/authors/StevenCole.htm;

"The three function model is a profound bedrock to provide footing for a medical communication course. It is simple at its most basic level and applicable to any discipline or subspecialty a young trainee would decide to pursue. Thus, it is widely applicable to medical school educators…the model is equally applicable to graduate and post graduate level educators and clinicians who want to advance their skills. There are few medical texts out there that can have such wide appeal and effectiveness. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any medical educator who has a need to both learn and teach patient-physician communication." --Joseph S. Weiner, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Medicine, Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine"In over 20 years of teaching interviewing skills to medical students I have consistently relied on The Medical Interview: The Three Function Approach as a key resource. The combination of humanism, intellectually rigorous biopsychosocial perspective, and clinical pragmatism makes it a uniquely relevant and accessible text. Students have no trouble grasping and applying the three-function structure as a tool for observing, critiquing and improving interview skills in themselves and their peers during our observed interview sessions. The introduction of motivational interviewing concepts in the third edition is a welcome addition." --Roy M. Stein, M.D., Associate Professor, Duke University School of Medicine

• I. Three Functions Of The Medical Interview1. Learning to Interview Using the Three Function Approach2. Why Three Functions?3. Function 1: Build The Relationship 4. Function 2: Assess and Understand5. Function 3: Collaborative ManagementII.Meeting the Patient6. Ten Common ConcernsIII. Structure of the Interview7. Opening The Interview8. Chief Complaint, Problem Survey, Patient Perspective, And Agenda Setting9. History Of Present Illness10, Past Medical History11. Family History12. Patient Profile And Social History13. Review Of Systems14. Mental StatusIV. Presentation and Documentation 15. Presentation and DocumentationV. Understanding Patients’ Emotional Responses to Chronic Illness16. Understanding Chronic Illness: Normal Reactions17. Understanding Chronic Illness: Maladaptive ReactionsVI Advanced Applications18. Stepped-Care Advanced Skills for Action Planning19. Chronic Illness20. Health Literacy and Communicating Complex Information for Decision-Making21. Sexual Issues in the Interview22. Interviewing Elderly Patients23. Culturally Competent Medical Interviewing24. Family Interviewing25.Troubling Personality Styles and Somatization26. Communicating with the Psychotic Patient27. Breaking Bad News27 (a). Sharing Difficult or "Bad" News: A Nine-Step Transactional Process of Transformation28. Disclosure of Medical Errors and Apology29. Alcohol And Risky DrinkingVII. HIGHER ORDER SKILLS30. Nonverbal Communication31. Use of the Self in Medical Care32. Using Psychological Principles in the Medical Interview33. Integrating Structure and FunctionAppendix1: Table of skills2: BAP Guide