6.10 Concluding the Interview

Concluding the interview has three main purposes:

• First, ensure you understand everything necessary to provide the best care for the client.
• Second, to ensure that the client has had the opportunity to share what is important to them and add additional information.
• And finally, to ensure that the client knows the next steps concerning their care. Be specific, and do not assume the client knows what to expect.

As part of the interview conclusion, you should summarize the collected data. This summary should reflect what the client said and may include paraphrasing what was said. You might start the summary by saying, “The interview is coming to a close, and I would like to share a summary of what we discussed.” The summary length will depend on the comprehensiveness of the interview and the complexity of the client’s needs but is usually a few sentences summarizing the pertinent data. This can be followed up by a couple of questions, such as “Did I capture what you said accurately?” and “Is there anything else you would like to share with me that is important to your care?”

Finally, you should discuss the next steps related to the client’s care. For example, these may include a physical assessment or having another health professional talk with them. Make sure you ask the client if they have any questions before concluding the interview. Finally, close the interview in a therapeutic way, which may involve using the name they prefer to be called and thanking them for sharing their information.

Attribution Statement

Content adapted, with editorial changes, from:​

Lapum, J., St.-Amant, O., Hughes, M., & Garmaise-Yee, J. (Eds.)(2020). Introduction to communication in nursing. Toronto Metropolitan University Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca/communicationnursing/

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