A6 Responding to symptoms

Question 1

what are symptoms?

Answer 1

things a patient tells you

Question 2

what are signs?

Answer 2

what you see

Question 3

what are minor ailments?

Answer 3

conditions that don’t generally need referral to another healthcare professional

Question 4

what is involved in the gathering of information for responding to symptoms?

Answer 4

• what is needed?
• where should / could it be obtained? (eg. counter, consultation room etc)
• how should it be obtained? (eg. systematic, structured, thorough, relevant)

Question 5

what might we mean by treatment after responding to symptoms?

Answer 5

• self-care advice
• signpost or refer
• recommend a medicine
• a combo of these

Question 6

what does WWHAM stand for?

Answer 6

• who is the patient?
• what are the symptoms?
• history of the symptoms? / how long?
• actions taken?
• medicines / medical conditions currently?

Question 7

describe what should be included in the first W of WWHAM

Answer 7

• is the patient the person present?
• any special circumstances? (eg. pregnant, elderly, child etc.)
• general health / social factors (eg. do they look ill?)

Question 8

describe what should be included in the second W of WWHAM

Answer 8

• let patient describe symptoms in their own words
• start with open questions
• give the patient time to speak
• follow up to clarify (eg. aggravating factors - is it better or worse after eating?)
• check for red flag symptoms

Question 9

describe what should be included in the H of WWHAM

Answer 9

• how long have they had the symptoms?
• when did the symptoms start?
• what was the person doing when the symptoms started? (eg. after they fell)
• how did they start?
• any known cause?
• is it a recurrence of a previous occasion?

Question 10

why does it matter to find out when a patient’s symptoms started?

Answer 10

• acute and sudden symptoms are concerning
• 3 weeks of constant, changing or worsening symptoms are concerning

Question 11

describe what should be included in the A of WWHAM

Answer 11

• what actions (if any) have they taken already?
• have they taken any medicines?
• outcome of actions / medicines?
• have they seen a healthcare professional, this time or previously?

Question 12

describe what should be included in the M of WWHAM

Answer 12

• medicines for this episode of symptoms?
• concurrent medicines for other conditions?

Question 13

why is it important to find out what current medications patients are on when responding to symptoms? what else should be considered?

Answer 13

• possible adverse drug reactions
• avoid interaction with current therapy
• indication of other medical conditions
• prescribed and OTC should be considered
• allergies to medicines should be considered

Question 14

what is the general referral criteria when responding to symptoms?

Answer 14

• long duration of symptoms
• recurring or worsening symptoms
• severe pain
• failed medication
• suspected ADR / interaction
• danger symptoms
• special care groups eg. pregnant