Background
In the field of medicine a patient history is an account of the significant events in the patient's life that have a relevance to the issue being addressed. The clinician taking the history guides the process in an attempt to achieve a succinct summary of these relevant details. Much of the history is obtained by asking questions. Some of these questions are quite specific, such as, "How old are you?" and others are more open, such as, "How have you been feeling lately?" Although the structure of the interview may appear disjointed, the end result is usually under a set of headings which have a worldwide similarity.
Read more about this topic: Psychiatric History
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)