How to get a SAMPLE history and OPQRST on scene
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.
SAMPLE and OPQRST are the two memory aids every EMT uses to get a fast, complete history on scene. The NREMT medical assessment sheet expects both.
Step by step
Scene safe and protection on
Confirm the scene is safe and put on gloves and other protection before you reach the patient. [1]
Introduce yourself and get consent
Your name, your role and permission to help. Ask the chief complaint. [2]
OPQRST for the complaint
Onset (what were you doing), Provocation and palliation (what makes it worse or better), Quality (what it feels like), Region and radiation, Severity (0 to 10), Time (when it started, how it changed). [1]
S: signs and symptoms
What the patient feels and what you see. [1]
A: allergies
Medicines, foods, latex and insect stings, and what happened. [1]
M: medications
Prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, inhalers and recent changes. Take the bottles or a photo of the list. [1]
P: pertinent past history
Heart, lung and kidney disease, diabetes, seizures, surgeries and recent hospital stays. [1]
L and E: last intake and events
Last food or drink (and when), and what happened just before the problem started. [1]
Use other sources and pass it on
If the patient cannot answer, ask family or bystanders and look for medical alert tags. Give the history in the handoff. [2]
Common errors
- Starting SAMPLE before checking the scene and the ABCs.
- Not asking about the last oral intake.
- Leaving the medication bottles behind.
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.
Sources
Facts and steps follow NREMT psychomotor skill sheets (EMT and Paramedic); National EMS Education Standards (2021). VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.