Right now we're learning the basics of interviewing patients. A lot of the older physicians group together "types of difficult patients" and teach ways to "deal with them". There's been use of words like unstable and hysterical in our discussions, but luckily some of the younger

physicians/instructors and students have been working to curtail this. Some of the simulated patient (SP) interactions have been caricatures of patients with chronic disease. I've been told that I need to be "more critical" of the fact that my SP had a long list of symptoms and

has been to multiple providers with no definitive diagnosis. And that I should have started a mental health exam earlier instead of letting her "go on about her symptoms"??? We're expected to say certain phrases during these simulations in order to earn points, so there's been an