- Shake the patient’s hand: There’s no better feeling than stopping over to say goodbye to a patient who is dressed, energized, and fully ready to leave with a clear understanding of medical decision making, return precautions, and follow-up plans.
- Trust your instincts: Our responsibility doesn’t end when the patient leaves those department doors. We are obligated to protect our patient in the emergency room as well as AFTER they are discharged.
- Read over the chart: Skim the triage summary, vitals, and the notes. double-check reads on imaging/labs and repeat vitals, since the worst feeling is to discharge a patient with a documented HR of 120 or a incidental nodule on chest-xray that you never told the patient about.
- Examine your patient (twice is better than once): repeat physical exam, vitals, and further probing of history (with appropriate associated documentation as well).
- Check to see that the patient can eat, talk, walk, poop, and pee.
