University of Minnesota
 A Geriatric Home Visit Experience
Life History
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senior talks about her familyThe life history is an important part of the medical history for a senior because it:

  • Creates rapport between the patient and provider

  • Provides insight into major life choices that could predict current or future health care choices

  • Describes educational background

  • Describes social resources

  • Provides insights into stress experienced and coping mechanisms
Dr. Ratner demonstrates how to get started:

Video [:21] Audio

Typical questions include:

Tell me about yourself.

Where were you born?

What brought you to the Twin Cities?

Do you have children?

What kind of work did you do?

Where did you live before moving here?

How long have you lived here?

What memories/events in your life are you most proud or fond of?

What are the key lessons life has taught you?

In less than a minute you can learn a lot about a patient:

Senior A

video link [:57] audio link

Senior B

video link [:51] audio link


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University of Minnesota Academic Health Center Seniors as Teachers Program

Date of last revision: December 17, 2001

© 2003 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota and the Academic Health Center. All rights reserved.

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