Listening is not quite enough - though it helps if you do not shoot the next question while the patient or the accompanyimg adult is able to :1. Understand 2. Compose the answer in the head 3. Articulate.
Might I add that
a) merely because both the doctor and the patient claim to speak English, they may be talking different types of English. Mutually unintelligible.
b) the interpreter or the "go-between" may, and sometimes does (in my experience) utter an incorrect version.
c) if you went on duty in A and E at 10 pm, working more or less non-stop, you will have little ability at 5 am, to properly examine (history taking included) a child with a medical illness, though you may be perfectly fit to do a good job with an adult patient with a dislocated shoulder.
Rapid Response:
Re: Listening to patients is not enough
Listening is not quite enough - though it helps if you do not shoot the next question while the patient or the accompanyimg adult is able to :1. Understand 2. Compose the answer in the head 3. Articulate.
Might I add that
a) merely because both the doctor and the patient claim to speak English, they may be talking different types of English. Mutually unintelligible.
b) the interpreter or the "go-between" may, and sometimes does (in my experience) utter an incorrect version.
c) if you went on duty in A and E at 10 pm, working more or less non-stop, you will have little ability at 5 am, to properly examine (history taking included) a child with a medical illness, though you may be perfectly fit to do a good job with an adult patient with a dislocated shoulder.
Competing interests: No competing interests