Medical Assistant Prep / Unit 11 MAS 261 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Exploring a Symptom With P, Q, R, S, T and U
The idea
A symptom can be explored with six questions, remembered by the letters P, Q, R, S, T and U.
In practice
P is provocation and palliation: what makes it worse, and what makes it better? Q is quality: what does it feel like, for example aching, stabbing or burning? R is region: where exactly is it, and does it move or spread? You can ask the patient to point. S is severity: how bad is it on a scale from zero to ten? T is timing and treatment: when did it start, is it constant or does it come and go, and has the patient taken anything for it? U is understanding: what does the patient think is causing it?
Where people slip
Record the answers in the patient's words and leave the interpretation to the provider. The questions gather information, not a diagnosis.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Medical Assistant Prep