SOCRATES

• ​Site

• ​Onset

• ​Character

• ​Radiation

• ​Association

• ​Timing

• ​Exacerbating and alleviating factors

• ​Severity

​What are the Wh questions, and what are they for?

​We use the words with Wh to ask questions related to the patient's complaint.

The Wh questions are all those in English that begin with:

​ Where-​Site-​Radiation

​ When-​Onset

Which-what- how-Character-​Exacerbating and alleviating factors

​ What.-Association

​How-​Timing-Severity

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​Note:

When using SOCRATES, you must change each of the letters into verbs.

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​*When taking the history of the presenting complaint (HPC), you often ask about pain.

S: Where do you feel/get the pain?

​O: When did the pain start/begin?

​C: Can you tell me what the pain is like?/Can you describe the pain for me?

​R: Does the pain spread anywhere else? Does the pain move to another part of your body?

​A: Is there anything that/which brings it on?

​T: How long does the pain last?/Is the pain constant?/Have you had the pain before?

​E: Is there anything that makes it worse/better?

​S: Does it wake you up at night?/Could you tell me how intense your pain is?/How would you describe your pain on a scale from 1 to 10, where ten is the strongest, and one is the mildest?

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Is everything clear so far?​