TIL a coworker told me I was asking patients too many closed questions during triage

She said try 'what brings you in today?' instead of 'chest pain or shortness of breath?' and my assessment notes actually got way more useful info, anyone else had a simple phrase swap change how you talk to people?

2 comments

2 Comments

cole_walker2616d ago

Man I feel this one in my bones. I used to walk into triage and rattle off closed questions like I was reading a grocery list. "Pain? Yes or no? Breathing ok? Allergies?" Got a lot of yes and no answers but zero context. Then an older nurse told me to just ask "what's going on today?" and suddenly people would tell me their whole life story. It was embarrassing honestly. Like I'd been doing it wrong for months and a simple swap made me look way more competent. Still catch myself slipping back into robot mode sometimes though.

lisa_bennett15d ago

Funny you mention that, it reminds me of this time I was at the DMV and the guy behind the counter just stared at me and said "what's the problem?" I launched into this whole story about my lost license and the road test I failed three times. He just nodded and handed me a form. But I realized he got way more out of me than if he'd barked "Name? Address? Reason?" Like that one open question broke something loose in my brain. Still, I bet he wished he hadn't asked sometimes, I can talk for a while when I get going.