Interview Preparation

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Identify and summarize the purpose of your interview. How will the information you gather be used? This interview is meant to give the interviewer a chance to apply the formal processes learned in class on how to conduct an interview. It is meant to put the skills of the interviewer to the test on ways of applying the different techniques used in interviewing.

The interviewer is supposed to locate a volunteer participant for the procedure and inform him/her that the interview is for role play purposes and not a genuine diagnosis in the hospital. The interviewer should then ask the volunteer some questions about their symptoms they are experiencing; she should then gather related information about these symptoms in the effort of assisting in the diagnosis of the disease the patient is suffering from and in the treatment (Marshal,2013). The interviewer should then go through her personal beliefs and indicate the ways in which they could impact the interviewing process. After identifying the ways in which the interviewers believe could affect the interview, the interviewer should indicate the different ways to limit the effects of his/her beliefs to the interview.

Explain how you will structure the interview and your reasoning behind the structuring of the interview. Include a list of topics you plan to cover. To come up with a successful interview, the interview will begin with gathering as much information related to the case as possible. This will help to familiarize the interviewer with all the different angles of the case. Gathering information associated with diseases that have the symptoms of persistent headaches and trouble sleeping will position the interviewer at a better position to bond with the interviewer.

An early establishment of a bond between the two parties (interviewer and interviewee) involved will help the interviewee open better to the interviewer. The interviewer will also know the kind of questions to ask to arrive at the crucial information needed for a better chance of diagnosing the disease and help in the treatment. With more knowledge about the symptoms, the interviewer will be in a better position to rule out all the questions and diseases that the interviewee could not have. This will assist to shorten the time taken by the interview (Marshal, 2013). Knowing all the different facets of the case will help the interviewer avoid possible inappropriate questions.

She/he will also know all the worst-case scenario question that he/she should not ask the volunteer or mention to avoid scaring the patient. The interviewer will also be in a better place to offer reassuring messages to the patient while he/she knows of the details of the case. Compose the questions you will use to obtain the information (develop a minimum of 15-20 questions). Be sure that you develop a minimum of 5 open, and 5 closed ended questions. i) How often are the headaches? This will allow the interviewer to know how severe the problem is. ii) When did, the headaches start?

Knowing when the symptoms started will help the interviewer find out whether the symptoms are related to anything else the victim engaged in at around the same time. iii) Was there anything new that the patient was doing when the symptoms started? To know whether the symptoms were a result of a new practice by the victim, the interviewer can narrow down the possible causes (Winkler, 2002). iv) How severe were the symptoms at the beginning? The question can help the interviewer know whether the symptoms are escalating or going down. v) Did the problem with sleep start at the same time? Knowing whether the headaches and the trouble sleeping started at the same time can help in determining whether the symptoms point to one disease or two diseases. vi) Have similar symptoms ever happened before?

Knowing whether the symptoms have happened before could help know whether the problem is a new disease or an old problem. vii) Did the patient have a head injury before the symptoms started? A head injury could explain the symptoms. If the victim had been involved in an accident before, the symptoms could indicate a possible head injury and help reduce the time taken to diagnose the problem. viii) Is there a history of dementia in the victim's family? Dime has similar symptoms as the victim are experiencing, a history of dementia in his family could point to a possible case of it help the doctor focus more on ruling it out in the diagnosis. ix) Is the trouble in sleeping accompanied by feeling tired during the day?

A combination of these two symptoms could mean Insomnia. x) Is the victim experiencing pain in the joints? This could indicate a case of lupus which is very dangerous and quick diagnosis is paramount to dealing with the problem. xi) Are symptoms accompanied by shortness of breath, nosebleeds and anxiety? A yes here would indicate high blood pressure. xii) Is the victim experiencing moist skin, muscles cramps, pale skin and sweating? This could indicate a case of heat exhaustion. xiii) Is the patient experiencing painful swelling glands? A yes in this question would mean a possible Mumps case. xiv) Is the patient experiencing confusion and numbness? A combination of these symptoms could mean a possible Stroke case. xv) Was the patient exposed to the sun for a prolonged period before the symptoms started? Exposure to the sun could lead to similar symptoms and the answer to this question will be crucial for the doctor to determine the next step. To ensure that the victim is not going through depression the interviewer will ask whether the victim has gone through any unforeseen problems before the symptoms. The interviewer should ask if the victim has had sleep apnea before as it could lead to the symptoms, he is going through. Diabetes can lead to the symptoms the victim is going through (Winkler,2002). To check whether the symptoms are related the interviewer should ask if the victim has diabetes. A sinus infection can cause similar symptoms, like the ones the victim is experiencing. The interviewer should ask whether the victim has a sinuses problem. Develop a minimum of 5 examples of paraphrasing, summaries, or reflections techniques that could be used during your interview.

Mirroring In mirroring, the interviewer repeats almost everything the victim/interviewee has said to try and understand the story from the victim's point of view. In a case where the interviewee states that his symptoms started after getting hit on the head while playing in the field; the interviewer could mirror the conversation and say. "So, you mean that your symptoms started after an accident in the field?" In another case, the interviewer could use mirroring after the interviewee states that. "Were it not for the teacher's insisting on prolonging the P.E, I would not have had the symptoms." In this case the interwar would state, is it true that had it not been for the teacher's insistence to extend the P.E that you would not have had the symptoms.? Paraphrasing In a case where the interviewee state that the symptoms started at after he got to school, the interviewer could paraphrase this and say, “Do you mean that you got the symptoms at school?†In another case after the interviewer stating that he got the headaches before the sleeping problems, the interviewer could paraphrase this and ask, “Is it true that the sleeping problems came after the headaches?†Paraphrasing could also be used in the instance where the interviewee claims that there is no history of dementia in his family; the interviewer could paraphrase the same and ask.†Are you saying that there is no chance that the symptoms are hereditary?†(Marshal, 2013) Identify the opening techniques you will utilize to build rapport with the volunteer/client.

Approaching the interviewee at his home or at a park, (some place that he is comfortable) would help put him in more cooperative mood and avoid intimidating him such that he will not open to the questions. Acknowledging a past time when the interviewer had similar symptoms and how much they troubled her would be good to make a connection with the interviewer and help the two relate better. Paraphrasing the interviewee's answers in a non-formal way would create a relaxed mood to conduct the interview. Identify types/examples of questions you want to avoid during the interview. The interviewer should avoid any personal question especially at the beginning of the interview. She should avoid any questions that the interviewee seems not to want to answer. The interviewer should avoid any questions involving medical terminology as they might intimidate the interviewee. Avoid any specific answers about the medical perspective of the symptoms as, the interviewee is not a medical professional and any answer the interviewer could get would be misleading as they are not a doctor (Winkler,2002). Identify your beliefs (sympathetic, unsympathetic, or some mixture of both) and explain how these could affect your interview. Do you think that your beliefs are influenced by your age, cultural, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity?

Being a student and one who loves sports I may be biased when it comes to blaming the sport that the victim was involved with as the origin of the injury. This could negatively affect the findings of the interview as all the possible sources of the possible origin of the symptoms should be equally evaluated. This can, however, be remedied by having someone else who is not biased evaluate the sport the victim is involved with and question the other players about the accident that the victim was involved in to gauge the chances that it was the origin of the injury (Winkler, 2002). This whole process is being conducted to try and help the victim get diagnosed and treated for the disease causing the symptoms. All the resulted collected from the interview should be collected and reported without bias to help get a quick diagnosis. The students should also adhere to the techniques taught in the unit to gauge the level of their understanding.