Therapeutic silence

Also known as: Use of silence

Deliberately pausing to give the patient space to think or feel, especially after difficult news or an emotional disclosure.

Resisting the urge to fill every gap is a mark of a confident communicator. A short silence after breaking bad news is often more supportive than anything you could say.

More glossary terms

ABCDE approachA systematic method for assessing and treating an acutely unwell patient — Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure — dealing with each before moving on.
AMPLE historyA focused emergency history — Allergies, Medications, Past history, Last meal, Events — taken quickly in acute situations.
ARCPThe annual assessment that decides whether a doctor in training has met the competencies to progress to the next stage.
AVPU scaleA rapid way to grade consciousness — Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, Unresponsive — used in initial assessment.

Put it into practice

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