How to describe you symptoms to your doctor
Welcome back to Knowledge for Caregivers. My name is Kathy. I've been a geriatric nurse for 12 years, helping seniors age in place. Last week, I talked about how doctors need data, and I was talking about hard data, like vital signs. Today, I will discuss how we explain our symptoms to a doctor. I use an acronym called S, H, I, F, T, E, and I will use it when discussing my feet.
For instance, S is for symptoms. I will come to the doctor and say, my right foot hurts. History, H, has been going on for about a year. Intensity, it feels like somebody's driving a nail right in the middle of my foot. Intensity. It's a sharp shooting pain. Sometimes it's cramping. F is for frequency. Usually, at the end of the day, my foot is just hurting, or I'll get cramps at night. T is for timing again at the end of the day after I've been on my foot it hurts. E is for eases, what relieves it. After I sleep at night or after I've come off of my feet, it hurts less.
So you should be able to fit your symptoms and that history SHIFTE onto a little note card. Remember, your doctors have about 15 minutes with you, so if you can explain your medical problem in about 15 seconds on a little note card. It's going to help that doctor diagnose quickly. Remember the acronym SHIFTE symptoms, history, intensity, frequency, timing, and what eases it? And I will put that in the show notes. If you've forgotten or you're listening to this on the road, you can find me at Kathy's consulting, K, A, T, H, y, s, consulting.com,