A patient you know in the waiting room has chest pain; you just finished a shift and are leaving. What is the appropriate response?

A patient you know in the waiting room has chest pain; you just finished a shift and are leaving. What is the appropriate response?

• A. Stay and treat them yourself despite being late.
• B. Explain you cannot attend to them at this moment and leave the waiting room.
• C. Promise to see them after graduation and call them later.
• D. Be polite, acknowledge the request, and arrange care with the on-call staff to ensure appropriate coverage.

Answer: (D)

When ending a shift, patient safety and proper handover are the priorities. A patient with chest pain may have a time-sensitive emergency, so the right move is to acknowledge the request and arrange for care with the on-call staff to ensure appropriate coverage. This protects the patient’s welfare, keeps the care team accountable, and allows a seamless transition so someone on duty can assess and respond promptly. Staying to treat them yourself without coverage isn’t appropriate once your shift ends, as you may be acting outside your authorized scope and leave your own responsibilities unfulfilled. Simply saying you can’t attend and leaving the waiting room fails to ensure timely care. Promising to see them after graduation or calling later delays critical assessment.

When ending a shift, patient safety and proper handover are the priorities. A patient with chest pain may have a time-sensitive emergency, so the right move is to acknowledge the request and arrange for care with the on-call staff to ensure appropriate coverage. This protects the patient’s welfare, keeps the care team accountable, and allows a seamless transition so someone on duty can assess and respond promptly.

Staying to treat them yourself without coverage isn’t appropriate once your shift ends, as you may be acting outside your authorized scope and leave your own responsibilities unfulfilled. Simply saying you can’t attend and leaving the waiting room fails to ensure timely care. Promising to see them after graduation or calling later delays critical assessment.