Patient interview

How to interview a patient with diarrhea

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

MD / DOPANursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Most acute diarrhea is infection and gets better on its own. Blood, fever, dehydration and recent antibiotics change that.

Step by step

  1. Protect others

    Clean your hands and use contact precautions if infection is likely. [1]

  2. Duration

    Acute (under 2 weeks) or longer. [2]

  3. Stool details

    How many times a day, watery or bloody, at night, urgency. [2]

  4. Associated symptoms

    Fever, belly pain, vomiting, weight loss. [3]

  5. Exposures

    Travel, food, sick contacts, daycare, camping water. [3]

  6. Antibiotics and hospital

    Recent antibiotics or hospital stays raise concern for C. difficile. [3]

  7. Dehydration

    Thirst, dizziness, little urine, dry mouth. [3]

  8. Summarize and plan

    Explain fluids, warning signs and tests if needed. [4]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

19 VMS cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. CDC, Guideline for Isolation Precautions (2007) and PPE sequence
  2. NBOME COMLEX-USA clinical presentations
  3. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
  4. AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs)

Facts and steps follow NBOME COMLEX-USA clinical presentations; NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs). VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.