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Patient interview

How to interview a patient with a rash

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.

MD / DOPANursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Most rashes are harmless, but rash with fever, blistering or mucosal sores can be an emergency.

Step by step

  1. Introduce yourself and look

    Get consent and look at the rash in good light. [1]

  2. Onset and spread

    When it started, where, and how it spread. [2]

  3. Symptoms

    Itching, pain, burning, blisters, bleeding. [2]

  4. Red flags

    Fever, feeling very unwell, rash that does not fade when pressed, blistering or peeling skin, sores in the mouth or eyes. [3]

  5. Triggers

    New medicines (last 8 weeks), foods, soaps, plants, insect bites, sun, sick contacts. [3]

  6. History

    Eczema, psoriasis, allergies, immune problems. [3]

  7. Summarize and plan

    Describe the rash and explain the next step. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in Making Synapses

In Making Synapses 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.

Making Synapses cases that train this skill

35 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs)
  2. NBOME COMLEX-USA clinical presentations
  3. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint

Facts and steps follow NBOME COMLEX-USA clinical presentations; NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.