Meeting Your Patient

Warm-up: Own the First Sixty Seconds

4 warm-up questions

• How do you usually introduce yourself when you meet a patient for the first time?
• Tell me about a patient who was frightened when you met them. What did you do?
• Which part of speaking to patients in English worries you most?
• Do you think a warm hello changes how a patient feels about their whole stay?

Reading: The First Five Minutes

Read a 274-word text about The First Five Minutes

The First Five Minutes Amara has worked on a busy ward for six weeks. Her English is good, but the first minute with a new patient still makes her nervous. What she used to say "Hello. Name, please. Date of birth." Nothing there is wrong. The information is correct and the questions are quick. But the patient hears a form, not a person. What she says now "Good morning, I'm Amara. I'm one of the healthcare assistants looking after you today. Can I check your name and date of birth for me?" It takes four seconds longer, and it does three things at once. It gives her name, it gives her role, and it explains why she is asking. The pattern Most first conversations follow the same simple shape: 1. Greet and introduce — your name and your role. 2. Check identity — full name and date of birth, every time. 3. Say what will happen — "I'd just like to take your blood pressure." 4. Ask permission — "Is that all right?" 5. Leave a door open — "Are you comfortable? Do you need anything?" Small words, big effect Two words do a lot of work on a ward. Just makes a task sound small and routine: "I'd just like to check your temperature." And for me softens a question into a request: "Can you tell me your date of birth for me?" "People forget what you did. They remember whether you looked at them." Amara still writes her opening on a card in her pocket. After six weeks she does not read it any more, but she likes knowing it is there.

Vocabulary: On the Ward

8 items

Practice: What the Nurse Says, What It Means

Matching exercise, 7 items

• Can I check your name and date of birth?
• I'd just like to take your blood pressure.
• Is that all right with you?
• Your call bell is here, by your hand.
• Who is your next of kin?
• I'll give you a moment to settle in.
• The nurse in charge will come and see you.

Practice: Complete the Introduction

Gap-fill exercise, 7 items

• Good morning, my name ____ Amara.
• I'm one of the healthcare ____ on this ward.
• Can I ____ your date of birth, please?
• I'd just ____ to take your blood pressure.
• ____ your call bell is here by your hand.
• I will come back and check on you ____ lunch.
• Please tell me if you are ____ comfortable.

Dialogue: A New Patient Arrives

Role-play: A patient has just arrived on the ward for a planned overnight stay and is sitting on the edge of the bed with her coat still on (10 lines)

• Patient: Hello. Sorry, I don't know where I'm supposed to put my things.
• You: Good morning, I'm Sam. I'm one of the healthcare assistants looking after you today.
• Patient: Oh, hello. I'm a bit early, I think.
• You: That's absolutely fine. Can I check your full name and date of birth for me?
• Patient: Margaret Doyle, the fourth of June, nineteen fifty-eight.
• You: Thank you, Margaret. I'd just like to take your blood pressure. Is that all right?
• Patient: Yes, of course. Is it going to be a long wait? My daughter is downstairs.
• You: I don't know the exact time, but I'll ask the nurse in charge and come straight back.
• Patient: Thank you, dear. That's kind.
• You: You're very welcome. Your call bell is here by your hand, so press it any time.

Discussion: First Impressions

4 discussion questions

• Tell me about the best welcome you have ever received as a patient or a visitor.
• Do you think patients in your country expect a formal or a friendly nurse? Why?
• How is greeting a patient different from greeting a colleague at the start of a shift?
• What would you say to a patient who does not want to answer the admission questions?