Week 4: Using Patience as a tool

Throughout my first few weeks, I’ve learned success in clinical research relies heavily on patience. In the Emergency Department, patience helps not only the Nurses and Doctors but also the researchers.

Patients in the Emergency Department often have some form of altered mental status. There are almost unlimited forms: some more visible than others. Some examples include trauma to the head, falling on the back, a mental disorder, or a patient who could be very old. At certain times, it is difficult to ask if the patient would be willing to participate in a research study. 

The key to overcoming this challenge is patience. Approaching the patient at the right moment is vital to acquiring a positive response. Intruding while the patient is having a private conversation with an Emergency Room Nurse would not be the right time and could cause the patient to become frustrated. Therefore as the research team, we need to find the perfect moment to enter the patient’s room to ask them to participate in research. 

My approach consists of a couple of different steps:

• Waiting until the doctors and nurses are finished with any evaluation or procedures
• Avoiding easily irritable patients 
• Preferably entering if a patient’s family member is present
• Introducing myself in a friendly manner
• Clearly explaining the research study
• Emphasize any incentives to participate (if there are any)

In the end, it will always be the patient’s personal decision whether to participate in the research study. But using these steps helps keep patients interested (and not frustrated) which projects positive feelings toward the research study.