Rooming a Patient

In practice

She calls the patient from the waiting room by first name, introduces herself by name and role, and walks him to the exam room. There she confirms two identifiers, his full name and date of birth, against the record. She asks about allergies, and he mentions a new one: a rash after an antibiotic last month. She records the drug and the reaction. She asks, "What brings you in today?" He says, "My knee has been killing me since I fell on the stairs." She records those words as his reason for the visit. Then she works through the six questions. Walking makes it worse and ice helps a little. It is an aching pain, and he points to the inside of his right knee. He rates it six out of ten. It started four days ago, it is constant, and he has been taking an over-the-counter pain reliever. He thinks he twisted it. She asks about his medications by name, including over-the-counter drugs and supplements, and records the pain reliever along with a vitamin he had not mentioned. She measures his vital signs and records them as objective data. She tells the provider that the patient is ready, and she mentions the new antibiotic allergy.