Patient interview

How to interview a patient with hair loss

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

Hair loss is often a sign of stress, illness or hormones. The pattern guides the cause.

Step by step

  1. Introduce yourself and look

    Get consent and look at the scalp. [1]

  2. Pattern

    Patches, thinning on top, receding, or all over. [2]

  3. Speed and triggers

    Sudden shedding 2 to 3 months after illness, surgery, childbirth or stress. [3]

  4. Scalp

    Itching, scaling, redness, scarring. [3]

  5. Diet and body

    Weight loss, iron deficiency, thyroid symptoms, periods. [3]

  6. Medicines

    Chemotherapy, anticoagulants, retinoids, hormones. [3]

  7. Family history

    Pattern hair loss in the family. [3]

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

Sources

  1. AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs)
  2. NBOME COMLEX-USA clinical presentations
  3. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint

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.