katyk4123

I work urgent care in a clinic setting, and the most helpful thing I've found is to preface all of my questions with, "Hello, my name is such & such...I'm so and so's nurse and am going to get your VS & ask you a few questions before he/she comes in to see you." It seems like an obvious thing, but prefacing your rooming questions with this statement focuses the patient so that they don't snowball you with a million and one complaints. If they know you are the nurse & not the one they will be seeing, they will typically give you a more condensed/direct version of their complaint. If you go in & say "what brings you in today," they sometimes assume you are the person they need to tell their entire medical history to. Not so. You need short/direct/concise information so you can triage appropriately. Hope this helps!

You should consider buying a double lumen stethoscope. I had a lovely Littman all through nursing school and couldn't hear squat. Then I bought a double lumen cheap-o stethoscope from prestige medical for 13 dollars & I can hear EVERYTHING!