SAMPLE History

Tom RaderStaff - June 8, 2021

Coming Soon…
[See the full post at: SAMPLE History]

3  

> the headache .. is only a “3”.

In this case – on the same subjective scale from 1 to 10?

The example here seems like a good summary of detailed history and answers from the patient. What would your assessment be, or what would the next action be here after compiling this summary? Is this meant to illustrate what actions we might take once summarizing SAMPLE information? Or is this example meant more to show the level of detail you would normally want to collect? Perhaps this example would benefit from mentioning what we would do next.

 

Added the assessment for the scenario given, and clarified 3 on the 1-10 pain scale. This lesson is not about the actions to take after SAMPLE, though, it’s more about the investigation process so you can later make smart decisions.

 

One thing I learned from a pro, which can be a delicate question as indicated under the “medication” category for drug screening (and also who might be around/witnessing the patient), is if you can introduce a slight bit of humor and/or even a sense of understanding to the question.

For example “have you taken any drugs other that what you are prescribed?” versus “did you try something a little different this time, or take it a little more than you normally do?” will probably get you a more honest answer or at least some nuggets to build on…sometimes just having a quieter/more close talk with the person out of ear-shot of bystanders is the key.

Another example-when I was in college interviewing for a Bar job, they asked “do you party more than the average college kid, or party harder?”. It’s the same idea-there is a bit of commonplace in recreational drug and alcohol use, particularly depending on state laws. An honest answer is key.

Also, I’d be interested in everyone’s opinion on carrying over the counter NARCAM now that it is available? 

[One more thing I’ll add from my first responder buddies if it is a ‘scene’…usually, as long as a paramedic or EMT is on the scene (a qualified person), and the patient is not acting crazy (from drugs or whatever), good police officers will usually be good about standing back/assessing other response needs just to lower some of the patient anxiety]