Clearly you’re not ok becsuse you’re seeing a doctor, but aren’t you supposed to be polite to the nurse? But then again the nurse is doing your intake assessment.
Be honest about what’s wrong, that’s why you’re there. But in a polite way. “Well, my day started off well but then I broke my arm so I’m worse now.”
Breaking your arm, as is tradition on a fine normal day
Tradition! Raises broken arm to the sky
Honestly.
It’s their job to know how you are truly doing and what you’re there to be treated for, no decent nurse would be offended if you got right to the point. “Hi, I’ve been having lower abdominal pain for a couple days, if it weren’t for that, I’d be doing good.” If the straight forward approach seems weird, you can follow it up with other pleasantries. Source: I’m a nurse.
Can’t you just tell the nurse if you don’t feel okay? How is that not being polite?
Depends on where you are. In some countries, saying that tends to be be just chatter/fluff, and the person asking does not expect an earnest answer.
But that said, if they’re seeing a doctor, it might be better to just be honest, instead of faffing about. At worst, they’re understandably slightly rude, and at best, they can make the nurse’s job easier.
They’re partly gauging your delivery and seeing where your mental state is at. So, being coherent if possible is probably ideal. Beyond that it’s a matter of taste I imagine.
Or if you’re feeling incoherent, go for it, I guess?
I’m honest. If I’m there for an annual exam and have no complaints I just say I’m fine. If I’m there for an issue I say “not great”. If I’m there for a follow up of an issue and it’s gotten better I say “better than last time”, or if it’s not gotten better or gotten worse I say “not as good as I’d hoped for”. These leave it open for the nurse to leave the answer as-is and continue with their checklist or follow up and ask about the symptoms.
“I’m about to find out!”
We ask open ended questions just to assess your general response. If we want other information, we’ll ask more focused questions. There isn’t a right answer and we get paid by the hour so you’re not wasting our time.
It’s an open question, there is no correct answer, they are seeking to elicit information
i will exercise my right to remain silent because anything i say might be used against me
You too!
“Well I’m at a hospital so you can imagine things aren’t going quite as well as I want.”
“Well, I’m here.”
apparently :)
i love this kind of “stating the obvious” nonReply replies
“I’ve been better” simple and to the point.
I update them on my condition. Given the context, they’re likely asking whether anything is going on with me that I believe they ought to know about.
The nurse is asking you to summarize your chief complaint (the reason why you came to the doctor).
Definitely not because they usually ask you this while you’re in the hallway, still walking towards the doctor’s room. They don’t want you sharing your medical information publicly.
