Interview with Old Patient: Clinical Reasoning Cycle and Effective Communication

Running head: INTERVIEW WITH OLD PATIENT
INTERVIEW WITH OLD PATIENT
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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INTERVIEW WITH OLD PATIENT
Introduction:
Clinical reasoning cycle is an effective framework by which healthcare professionals can
collect information about the patient, process the information, link the data collected with the
symptoms, identify the care priorities and thereby establish successful action plans (LaBionbo et
al., 2017). In this assignment, certain steps of the clinical reasoning cycle will be utilised for
taking proper interviews with an old patient on his concept of healthy living and thereby
recognise if he is vulnerable to any potential or acute problems.
Considering the patient situation:
Mrs. Brown who is aged 68 years old was my interviewee. I had to go to her home since she had
lost her mobility. I had to ensure that the environment where she would be giving me the
interview is selected by her so that she feels comfortable and does not feel stressed. After I had
entered in her house, I saw she lives in a two bedroom flat with her son. Her son, James was out
on an office trip and was not present. I saw that there was lot of clutters on the road and she was
at a high risk of falling. She decided that her garden would be the best spot as it is not only quiet
but also helps her to relax under the open sky. I fixed up two chairs round the centre table that
was already present in the garden. I had taken a voice recorder machine so that I could record her
speech. I placed it on the table. I had also taken both the forms of RLT Appendix 3as well as
Appendix 4 Sample Questions so that even if I get disrupted I can take help from the printouts. I
compassionately introduced myself and discussed the topic on which I was about to interview
her. While interviewing her, I noted down the information in pen and paper also besides recoding
it on the tape recorder. After the interview was over, I opened up the RLT Appendix 3 and
quickly noted down the actual and potential barriers immediately. Therefore, I collected data

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INTERVIEW WITH OLD PATIENT
properly. Moreover, I also noted down the environmental settings in her house so that I can also
gain ideas about her conditions of living.
Collection of cues and information:
While taking interviews, I tried to maintain a body language that is confident so that the
woman can trust me and does not feel demotivated. Before starting the interview, I engaged in an
informal conversation where I revealed my background, my position in the healthcare centres,
my hobbies and many others. Researchers are of the opinion when interviewers disclose
information about themselves, it helps the interviewees to feel comfortable and know whom they
are talking (Robert et al., 2014). If they develop the idea that they are talking to strangers, they
fail to disclose different information about themselves, as they feel anxious about the privacy of
the information. I ensured that the interview information would be kept confidential. Through
effective communication and rapport building, I saw that she had started trusting me and was
comfortable in my presence. Following that, I asked her questions and was very attentive. As she
was quite old, she was talking very softly and slowly and it was becoming difficult for me to
understand. However, I could not ask her to repeat, as it would affect her dignity and autonomy
(Dicenso et al., 2014). Therefore, I was very attentive to her speech. My attentive nature
impressed her and she was very pleased with the way I conducted the interview. I did not allow
myself to become impatient during the conversation due to her talking slowly. Rather, I helped
her to complete her sentences and respected her capability to speak.
Processing information:
After analysing the information about her ideas on healthy aging, I realised that she had
moderate amount of knowledge about healthy aging. When I asked her several questions like is