Together · 15 min · For caregivers
Questions on one page
Appointments are short and nerves are real. One page of questions, written the day before, means you leave with answers.
Most of us walk out of an appointment and remember, halfway home, the thing we meant to ask. Appointments are short, the room is unfamiliar, and worry crowds out the questions. A single page, written the day before, carries them in for you.
The steps
Four small steps,in your own time.
The day before, take one sheet of paper or a note on your phone, and write the name of the person the appointment is for and the date at the top.
Write down what has changed since last time, in plain words: what started, what got better, what got worse, and roughly when.
Write your questions underneath, then put a star next to the three that matter most. Ask those first.
Take the page in with you, and say at the start: I have written a few questions down, is it all right if I go through them? Write the answers on the same page before you leave the room.
The reason
Why it helps
A list keeps the important things from being squeezed out by the time pressure of the room. Saying it at the start lets the doctor or nurse plan the few minutes you have. And the answers, written next to the questions, become a record you can look back on, or show to someone else in the family.
A gentle variation
If writing is hard, record a short voice note of your questions instead, or ask someone to write them down as you talk. If you are going for someone you care for, ask them first what they want to know, and put their questions at the top.
WE · TRIBE
Try itwith someone.
Show the page to someone you trust before the appointment. They will often think of the question you forgot, and it can help to say the worries out loud once before you say them in the room.
Try it today
Before your next appointment, write one page: what has changed, and your three most important questions.
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