An accused’s first appearance before a judge or magistrate following arrest; during the appearance, the defendant is informed of the charges, advised of the right to counsel, told the amount of bail, and given a date for the preliminary hearing. Judge also determines if there is probably cause for the arrest.

A jury, usually composed of 23 jurors, that are tasked with determining if the state has enough evidence to hold a criminal trial.

The government must demonstrate to a judge or magistrate that there is sufficient evidence, or probable cause, to believe the suspect committed the crime with which he or she is charged. Defendants usually must be present at this hearing, although they do not commonly offer evidence in their defense.

In cases with a jury, the judge is responsible for insuring that the law is followed, and the jury determines the facts. In cases without a jury, the judge also is the finder of fact. A judge is an elected or appointed official who conducts court proceedings.

Logic and reasoning skills: Judges must possess excellent logical reasoning, analytical, and decision-making skills to analyze a complex case and statutory law and render sound legal decisions. Legal knowledge: Thorough knowledge of criminal and civil procedures, jurisdictional rules, and the court system is critical.

The judicial clerk is a full-time assistant to the judge and usually performs a wide range of tasks, including legal research, drafting of memoranda and court opinions, proofreading, and cite checking. Appellate court clerks are more likely to spend most of their time researching and writing.

A judicial clerkship is an invaluable experience that provides great training and opportunity for growth for all lawyers, regardless of practice area. Most judges take their mentoring role seriously; more seriously than many practicing lawyers.

Almost all federal judges have at least one law clerk; many have two or more. Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are allowed four clerks. Although the Chief Justice is allowed to hire five clerks, Chief Justice Rehnquist hired only three per year, and Chief Justice Roberts usually hires only four.

Clerking a patient is the first and most important contact that any medical team has with the patient. It provides information that may not be available later in the admission if recorded improperly, such as referral letters, collateral history, dosette boxes or prescription sheets.

Essential Steps in Writing an Evidence-Based Clinical Review Article. Choose a common, important topic in family practice. Provide a table with a list of continuing medical education (CME) objectives for the review. State how the literature search and reference selection were done.

Obtaining an Older Patient’s Medical History

1. General Suggestions.
2. Elicit Current Concerns.
3. Ask Questions.
4. Discuss Medications with Your Older Patients.
5. Gather Information by Asking About Family History.
6. Ask About Functional Status.
7. Consider a Patient’s Life and Social History.

obtain a patient’s history in a logical, organized, and thorough manner, covering the history of present illness; past medical history (including usual source of and access to health care, childhood and adult illnesses, injuries, surgical procedures, obstetrical history, psychiatric problems, hospitalizations.

The RESPECT model, which is widely used to promote physicians’ awareness of their own cultural biases and to develop physicians’ rapport with patients from different cultural backgrounds, includes seven core elements: 1) rapport, 2) empathy, 3) support, 4) partnership, 5) explanations, 6) cultural competence, and 7) …

CPT guidelines recognize the following eight components of the HPI:

• Location. What is the site of the problem?
• Quality. What is the nature of the pain?
• Severity.
• Duration.
• Timing.
• Context.
• Modifying factors.
• Associated signs and symptoms.

A chief complaint is a concise statement in English or other natural language of the symptoms that caused a patient to seek medical care. A triage nurse or registration clerk records a patient’s chief complaint at the very beginning of the medical care process (Figure 23.1 ).

A chief complaint is a statement, typically in the patient’s own words: “my knee hurts,” for example, or “I have chest pain.” On occasion, the reason for the visit is follow-up, but if the record only states “patient here for follow-up,” this is an incomplete chief complaint, and the auditor may not even continue with …

Sore throat, skin rash, abdominal pain, earache, and backache were the five most common complaints (302 per 1,000 patients.)

presenting problem(s). complaint is indicated at all levels. Chief Complaint (CC): A concise statement describing the reason for the encounter. The CC should be clearly reflected in the medical record for each encounter and is usually stated in the patient’s words.

Following the chief complaint in medical history taking, a history of the present illness (abbreviated HPI) (termed history of presenting complaint (HPC) in the UK) refers to a detailed interview prompted by the chief complaint or presenting symptom (for example, pain).

Chief complaints—also commonly referred to as presenting problems, clinical syndromes, or reasons for visit—are important because the chief complaint often guides diagnostic decision making and care. It is also a vital data element collected by regional and state public health systems to monitor for disease outbreaks.

The chief complaint, formally known as CC in the medical field, or termed presenting complaint (PC) in Europe and Canada, forms the second step of medical history taking. It is sometimes also referred to as reason for encounter (RFE), presenting problem, problem on admission or reason for presenting.