ABSTRACT
History taking involves utilizing communication skills to gather information in a structured process and, so, marks will be allocated for: (1) communication skills, (2) structure and (3) the completeness of the information that you obtain. From the outset, you should keep in mind that a good history does not involve blindly asking the same list of questions and presenting your findings. Instead, it involves developing an initial differential diagnosis of the most likely causes for the symptoms based upon the presenting complaints and employing a thoughtful and logical approach to narrowing this down through relevant questions to formulate a diagnosis and a management plan. This approach will not only score you high marks in the exam but will serve to help you manage patients better in clinical practice.
