How to take a medication and allergy history
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.
Medication errors often start with an incomplete list. The Joint Commission asks for an accurate list at every handoff, and a good allergy history separates true allergies from side effects.
Step by step
Introduce yourself and explain why
Tell the patient you need the full list to keep them safe. Ask them to show their bottles or list if they have them. [1]
Ask for every medicine
Prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, herbal products, inhalers, injections, eye drops, patches and birth control. [1]
Details for each one
Name, dose, route, how often, what it is for, and how they really take it (missed doses, splitting pills). [2]
Recent changes
Medicines started, stopped or changed in the last weeks, and why. [1]
Allergies: what happened?
For each drug: the reaction (rash, swelling, trouble breathing, nausea), when, and how it was treated. Nausea or upset stomach is an intolerance, not an allergy. [2]
Other allergies
Latex, foods, contrast dye and tape. [2]
Compare and record
Compare with the record, fix differences, and write the updated list and the allergies with their reactions. [1]
Close
Give the patient the updated list and remind them to carry it. [1]
Common errors
- Forgetting over-the-counter and herbal products.
- Writing "allergy" without the reaction.
- Not checking how the patient really takes the medicine.
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
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Pharmacology 2e, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow The Joint Commission, National Patient Safety Goals. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.