The Doctor by Samuel Fildes, 1893. (Image courtesy of Wellcome Library, Creative Commons by-nc 2.0 UK: England & Wales)

The patient's perspective of staying healthy, becoming ill, being ill, and their experiences with the health care system as viewed through the medical interview, will initiate the lifelong, interpersonal activity of providing effective patient care.This course teaches the skills to achieve this.

Effective interviewing of patients is essential for doctors. This course is an introduction to those human experiences which pervade and define the doctor-patient relationship as well as an introduction to the development of the competencies that will make accurate data collection possible. This course will provide the student with the basic skills, attitudes and knowledge required for that endeavor.