Patient interview

How to interview a patient with memory 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

Talk to the patient and to someone who knows them well. The story of what has changed matters more than one test.

Step by step

  1. Introduce yourself and ask permission

    Ask if you may also talk with a family member. [1]

  2. What changed and when

    Forgetting recent events, repeating questions, getting lost, trouble with money or medicines. [2]

  3. Course

    Slow over years, step-wise, or sudden (sudden suggests delirium or stroke). [3]

  4. Daily function

    Cooking, driving, bills, personal care. [4]

  5. Mood and sleep

    Depression can look like memory loss. [3]

  6. Medicines and alcohol

    Sleeping pills, anticholinergics, opioids, alcohol. [3]

  7. Safety

    Driving, stove, wandering, falls, who helps at home. [4]

  8. Summarize and plan

    Explain the screening test and blood tests. [1]

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

7 VMS cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs)
  2. NBOME COMLEX-USA clinical presentations
  3. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
  4. CDC STEADI (falls in older adults)

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.