Communication with the patient and their family members or close ones has an essential role in patient care. In order to create a feeling of safety, it is important that the patient can speak their native language.
A three-year-old comes to the emergency clinic with her dad. On the previous day the family has returned from a safari trip from Tanzania. The child has had diarrhea for a couple of days and in the night before. Now Sade has a high fever. The nurse has already examined the patient’s details.
N: How high was the fever last night?
FM: 39,5°C
N: Did you give her any medicine for the fever?
FM: We gave paracetamol as instructed.
N: How much was that?
FM: I don’t know. My wife gave it.
N: Has she had any other symptoms, for example rash, headache, or abdominal symptoms?
FM: Sade has complained of headache, and she had a rash on her body at night.
N: Wait a little, the doctor will be here soon.
After the doctor’s check-up Sade had some blood tests taken.
B: Has she had blood tests taken before?
FM: At the child health clinic they have taken haemoglobin from her fingertip and some sample was taken from her heel when she was a baby.
P: Will it hurt?
B: It will pinch a little, but you can sit on your dad’s lap. This won’t take long.
P: Okay.
B: Now I could take the samples. First I’m going to apply this band around your upper arm. It may squeeze a little, but it helps me feel your veins better.
B: Now I’m going to cleanse your skin with this swab, and then discard it. Soon it will pinch a little when I take the blood sample. You can look if you want.
P: I will!
B: How brave you are! Remember to keep your arm still. Very good! Now we’ll just wait for the tubes to fill, and then we’re done.
P: It doesn’t hurt anymore.
B: Good! Now I’ll remove the needle and apply a gauze pad on the injection site. Your dad could press the injection site while I put the items away.
B: Right, now I’ll apply some adhesive tape, and you can pick a fancy plaster. Then I’ll attach the plaster.
P: I want that cat plaster.
B: There you go. It went great. You were really brave! Bye now!
An elderly man has called for help, because his wife has flu symptoms and her condition has gone worse.
Pm: I am Mia from Emergency Care, good afternoon. You had called an ambulance. Can you tell us more about your situation?
H: My wife has had a fever for many days now and she has become fatigued. Her symptoms started with a runny nose and a sore throat. Then she developed a fever and a dry cough. She has been feeling worse every passing day. Now she has severe shortness of breath.
Pm: How high is the fever? Can she drink? Has she thrown up?
H: The fever was 38,5°C this morning. No, she can’t drink. She’s been complaining of pain all over her body. She has lost her sense of taste and smell.
Pm: Does she have any other illnesses?
H: She has diabetes, heart issues, and asthma.
Pm: How does her skin look? Is it bluish or grey?
H: Her skin has turned grey and I have a hard time getting through to her.
Pm: I’ll attach a saturation device on your fingertip, and I’ll put an oxygen mask on you. We’ll also take ECG. Try to take it easy.
Pm: Your oxygen levels and respiration are not normal. We’ll have to take you to hospital.
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