Lesson 1Systematic symptom inquiry: sleep, mood, cognition, weight, feversYou will learn a step-by-step way to ask about symptoms in patients feeling tired, covering sleep quality, feelings, thinking, hunger, weight changes, fevers, night sweats, and pains, to make a targeted list of possible causes and direct tests in local settings.
Clarifying nonrestorative sleep and snoringScreening for low mood, anhedonia, and anxietyAssessing concentration, memory, and brain fogAsking about weight change and appetite shiftsEvaluating fevers, chills, sweats, and myalgiasLesson 2How to ask about psychiatric symptoms: depression, anxiety, PTSDThis part covers how to gently ask about sadness, worry, PTSD, and related signs in a caring, trauma-aware way, using proven check tools, normal talk, and follow-up questions on risks and daily troubles, suited for Gambian cultural contexts.
Using PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 in fatigue evaluationScreening for generalized anxiety symptomsTrauma-informed questions about PTSD featuresAssessing suicidality and self-harm riskExploring sleep, guilt, and concentration changesLesson 3Framing questions to elicit sleep hygiene, shift work, and circadian issuesThis part stresses asking exact questions on sleep times, sleep habits, night shifts, and body clock problems, helping you tell apart habit sleep issues from main sleep sicknesses and health causes of tiredness in everyday Gambian life.
Characterizing bedtime, wake time, and variabilityCaffeine, alcohol, and sedative use before sleepScreening for shift work and rotating schedulesIdentifying jet lag and circadian misalignmentBedroom environment and pre-sleep routinesLesson 4Medication, substance, and supplement review focused on fatigue causesThis part looks closely at prescribed medicines, over-the-counter items, substances, and extras that might cause or make tiredness worse, stressing exact question words and ways to get patients to open up more in trustful talks.
Identifying sedating and anticholinergic drugsScreening for beta-blockers and antihypertensivesAsking about alcohol, cannabis, and illicit drugsReviewing OTC antihistamines and sleep aidsDocumenting herbal and dietary supplement useLesson 5Functional impact and screening for red flags (work, ADLs, safety)Here you will learn to check how tiredness affects job, school, driving, and self-care, and to look for danger signs like heart-lung problems, infections, cancers, and self-harm thoughts that need quick checks or higher care levels in Gambia.
Assessing work and school performance changesEvaluating ADLs, IADLs, and caregiver rolesScreening for cardiopulmonary red flag symptomsIdentifying infection, malignancy, and weight lossAssessing safety risks including falls and drivingLesson 6Principles of focused history-taking in primary careThis part explains how to set up a targeted tiredness history in basic care, balancing full checks with time limits, using open and yes-no questions, putting safety first, and fitting the talk to patient age, other illnesses, and visit reasons.
Setting agenda and clarifying patient concernsUsing open-ended questions to start historyTargeted review of systems for fatigueBalancing thoroughness with time constraintsAdapting history to acute vs chronic fatigueLesson 7Documentation templates and succinct handoff language for preceptorsHere you will learn to write short, problem-based tiredness histories using forms, key words, and set checks, and to give clear, ordered spoken updates that point out danger signs and next diagnosis steps for mentors.
SOAP note structure for fatigue encountersEfficient phrasing of pertinent positivesDocumenting pertinent negatives and red flagsSummarizing functional impact and safety issuesOrganizing a clear, concise verbal handoffLesson 8Assessing menstrual, menopausal, and endocrine history in middle-aged patientsThis part teaches how to get monthly cycle, change-of-life, thyroid, and other body balance histories in mid-age patients with tiredness, including cycle ways, hot-cold signs, hormone treatments, and risks for balance disorders common in Gambia.
Characterizing menstrual regularity and flowScreening for perimenopausal vasomotor symptomsHistory of hormone therapy and contraceptivesTargeted thyroid and adrenal symptom questionsAssessing diabetes and metabolic syndrome risksLesson 9Targeted family and social history questions relevant to fatigueHere you will learn to get aimed family and social histories linked to tiredness, including passed-down conditions, care burdens, work exposures, money stress, and life ways that affect sleep and energy in Gambian communities.
Family history of thyroid and autoimmune diseaseHereditary sleep, cardiac, and mood disordersAssessing caregiving roles and burnout riskOccupational demands and environmental exposuresFinancial, housing, and food insecurity screeningLesson 10Temporal features: onset, duration, pattern, triggersYou will learn to describe the time shape of tiredness, including start, length, daily ways, starters, and easing factors, to tell short-term from long-term tiredness and spot hints of infection, balance, or mind causes.
Clarifying acute, subacute, or chronic onsetDaily pattern and variability of fatigueIdentifying exertional and cognitive triggersRelieving factors and rest responseTemporal links to illness, stress, or events
