Nothing’s quite as lovely as cussin’in the morning.

By the end of the visit, the young man was listening to my information on his grandmother’s diabetes. It felt a little schizophrenic, but I played bad cop/good cop. As horsey as he was, I felt sorry for him. When I left, I pointed out our agency phone number and smilingly said, “All patients come with a family. I am here to help all of you. This is the number.” The daughter and patient were relieved when I said my good bye. But I think I made a friend of the boy. He asked some good questions. Mainly, he was amazed that diabetes could cause complications, like kidney failure and poor healing. I really wanted to hug him, but I hugged my patient instead.

next time go w/your instincts, and hug the kid.

OK! Next time, I go with my instincts!
Muchas gracias, leslie!

Hey, BoogsGirl724. Your post resonated with me. This is a dilemma that is tough. How do we approach the inscrutable young bloods? Now that I am older, I may remind them enough of their mother or grandmother to gain a small measure of respect. Maybe.

As a nurse who has served in the same general community for several decades, I have developed a method of working with scarey people. First of all, most people really are trying as well as they know how. I act professional and introduce myself, including handshake, to someone in the group. My target is the baddest looking person there. The handshake is important, because it makes me human to them. The handshake is in addition to a friendly verbal greeting. After receiving his/her greeting response, I ask if he/she knows the address that I am seeking. Usually someone on the street will know the resident. We can’t tempt fate and an ounce of prevention . . . so these visits are during business hours and by appointment with the client.

The whole handshake thing is something learned from my father, the world’s best salesman. At first, I unconsciously imitated his friendly handshake. Then I watched what happens when you shake a person’s hand. Maybe what happens is inside me, but it works most of the time.