Patient Interviews

 

One unique feature of SCRB 167, "Stem Cells and Regeneration in the Pathobiology and Treatment of Human Disease," is the use of in-class patient interviews, in which students spend the final hour of a three-hour class asking questions of a live patient about his or her illness and experience. 

Before the interviews, students must understand the background of disease and complete the assigned reading. The class is structured to have two hours of traditional lecture on a particular disease topic related to stem cells preceding the patient interview. It is important for students to pay close attention in these lectures. In the last hour of the three-hour class, a live patient comes to the classroom. He or she is invited to tell the story of his or her illness and experiences, and then the students "interview" the patient by asking questions. This requires students to assimilate the information from the lectures (and come prepared) so that they can get the most out of the Q&A time. Students are highly motivated by this opportunity. After the patient interviews, students always stay after class to ask the patient more questions than the one-hour structure allows.

For this type of activity, make sure you are in line with the HIPPA privacy rule.