Patient introductions/icebreakers

[Classair]

Knock on the door to the patient ED room enter and say "Hi my name is Ronnie I am the tech for this room, how are you doing?” :roll: Pause for a few seconds smile and say “maybe that is not the question I should ask a person laying here in the emergency department.” That usually gets a smile. I will do what I came into the room to do and right before I go I will attach the call bell or button on the side rail of the bed and say “If you should need anything push the button and I will be here quicker than two shakes of a lambs tail” and smile. That breaks the ice for the patient and me.

Whether we enter a med unit or ED room we all should remember is that there will be a hurting human being lying in front of you, not just a hunk of beef.

[Flasurfbum]

Humor really is the best medicine. If you can incorparate a joke, a lighthearted moment into a medical procedure, then it makes it that much easier to perform.

Of course, it all depends on the Medic, pt, and situation.

Since I started, I have tried to bring a sense of calm to a situation, and I have found that humor truly is the best medicine. Often times, I have arrived at the Ambulance Bay with my patient, my preceptor, and I in stitches from laughing, all the meanwhile, getting my assessments, and treatments completed.

If you can take their mind off their ailment, from stubbed to, to amputated arm, for just a moment, then you have done well.

[Richard B the EMT]

I'm a City Kid, as mentioned in several dozen strings on the site, and never understood how fast a time was represented by "quicker than two shakes of a lambs tail". For me, the fasted moment of time is the interval from when the traffic light goes from red to green, and the cab driver behind you starts sounding his horn! This is the famous New York Minute, of 1 nanosecond duration.