A patient is at a clinic for a check-up and is discussing her health with the nursing assistant as she is checked in. She is 50 years old and in good health.
Health professional: Good morning Mrs. Gould, it’s good to see you again. How have you been feeling?
Patient: Hi Maria, I’ve had a good year. I’ve been trying to stay healthy by eating well and exercising every day. I do the best that I can!
Health professional: It sounds like you’re taking good care of yourself. How have you recovered from the hip surgery you had a few months ago?
Patient: It took a while to get back to normal and I was in a lot of pain, but I think I have made a complete recovery and now I can do all the activities that I couldn’t do after the accident.
Health professional: I am glad to hear that you recovered nicely. Besides your accident and recovery, how has your health been? Have you had the flu this year or any other bad colds or infections?
Patient: Last winter I had a stomach flu but I got over it within a few days. I feel that overall my health is better and not deteriorating, as I get older.
Health professional: That is good to hear. Do you have questions or concerns that you would like to discuss?
Patient: Well I have put on a little weight even though I am exercising. I also seem be having a lot more hot flashes than I have had in past. I guess in some ways age is catching up to me.
Health professional: Some women gain weight during menopause. As long as you keep exercising and eating well you should stay in good health. But you can mention your concerns to the doctor to make sure that is what is causing the weight gain.
Patient: Thank you Maria, I will.
Teacher: All right, let’s see what was happening in the previous discussion. Is the patient in this dialogue healthy?
Student: I think so.
Teacher: Is she getting over anything? To get over something means to recover from an illness.
Student: Yes. She had hip surgery.
Teacher: That’s right, she was recovering from hip surgery. There are several ways to talk about recovery. If someone is ill or slowly getting better we can say: getting better, getting over, recovering from, and finally, make a full recovery. If a patient was ill and is not improving we can say the words: worse, deteriorating, and relapse.
Student: What is a relapse?
Teacher: A relapse is a recurrence of a past medical condition. When something returns or comes back.
Let’s practice. You are a nursing assistant, reporting to the doctor on duty. Use one of the phrases to describe the patient’s condition.
An older patient, Mr. Sand, came to the hospital a week ago with heart failure. He was having difficulty breathing. We treated the patient. His breathing is slowly getting back to normal. Would you say he is getting better or getting worse?
Student: He is getting better or he is recovering from heart problems.
Teacher: Yes that is correct. Let’s try another one.
Mrs. Chop fell and broke her ankle. She had surgery. She was in a cast for 12 weeks. She completed 8 weeks of physical therapy. She is now walking and jogging. Would you say she made a full recovery or her situation is deteriorating?
Student: She made a full recovery.