Welcome back to another episode of Health Interventions for Your Practice! This episode is all about nailing it in the first visit to gather all you need to know in an efficient manner that sets the stage for every visit afterward.

I will share my first “real” visit and the mental slap in the face I gave myself to make it through. Then, the rest is history! And here I am now, teaching others how to be the best they can be in this great profession, while running a primary care/convenient care office, a weight management practice and an aesthetics practice! Time and experience are some of your best assets.

Getting that degree is amazing. You do all of your studies, you write your papers, you go to your clinical sites and you complete your preceptorships. During that transitional period of your education you begin with following your preceptor. You are given one to two patients a day maybe. Hopefully, you had the privilege of a preceptor that would educate you beyond the books and didactics of your program. Help you to put that knowledge into practice at an advanced level. Unfortunately, I have seen many instances where you complete your program and are not really sure what to do when you get out. In some preceptorships you are made to feel as if you are a burden. In other preceptorships you are treated as an equal.

Whatever the situation, when you come out of that and you are able to secure your first job as a nurse practitioner and you sit in front of that patient for the very first time you have so many emotions going through you. Most commonly, that emotion is fear!

With every lab review you will build your confidence and success in patient interaction. What I want you to remember, when you were doing that very first visit is that you are the person directing the conversation. You need to remember why you are there. You are the one who has the training to help this person improve their health. No matter what your background, you can find a common place with this person in front of you. You can find something that will make you connect with this person. They are giving you your symptoms; their concerns and they are putting their health into your hands. They are trusting you.

If you have already experienced that first visit, you were probably right now smiling and reminiscing on that fear you had. I know that I am. And that was quite sometime ago. If you are seasoned, my lovely colleagues, please just continue to smile and think about the day and how you can help someone else to feel a little bit more comfortable when they first start out. And pay it forward as a preceptor.

Listen in to hear my tips on preparing for that visit, boosting your confidence and gaining the trust of your patient.

Now, that we’ve built a base, I think we are ready to reality start focusing in on some Health Interventions!! So, make sure to join me for the next episode of Health Interventions for your Practice!

If you want more of me check out the Health Interventions website and online Health Interventions Courses for Providers.

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