How do you answer when a nurse asks you, "how are you doing today?"
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.
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.
grysbok, Yeah, it’s one of those weird questions that you don’t know if it’s social (“eh, fine”) or clinical (“well, my lower back’s been hurting ever since I turned 30, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because tripped, fell face-into-arm, and bit myself and the internet tells me I need a tetanus shot, but now I’m worried you’ll put me down for ‘self-harm’ and have me involuntarily committed and oh no did I say that out loud?”).
jbrains, 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.
dan1101, 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.”
Konn, Breaking your arm, as is tradition on a fine normal day
Goathound, Tradition! Raises broken arm to the sky
Cloudless, Can't you just tell the nurse if you don't feel okay? How is that not being polite?
T156, 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.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA, I do my socializing in the hallway on the way to the examination room for the appointment. We get down to why I’m there once I’m in the examination room.
Royal_Bitch_Pudding, 'Can’t be that good if I’m here."
Or, “better now that you’re here”
fubo, “Eh, pretty well except for the bloodsucking squid-fungus hybrid hanging off my navel.”
(Or whatever the problem is.)
woshang, As you can see
segfault, “I’m about to find out!”
dumptruckdan, "Well if I were doing perfect I wouldn't be here"
FuglyDuck, Usually “oh you know. Monday’s” if it’s a Monday, “x days better than Monday.”
Unless she’s specifically asking in a professional capacity
Alue42, 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.
Kolanaki, “Well I’m at a hospital so you can imagine things aren’t going quite as well as I want.”
redcalcium, “Alive and conscious enough. How about you?”
Geek_King, I’m fond of the reply:
“I’m upright, breathing, and able to take nutrients; I’m doing well”
FuglyDuck, That’s really all she wanted to know.
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