5 Tips For Exiting A Talker's Room.

So, you love all your patients. Sometimes you have time to sit for hours visiting with them. I have been known to sit for hours watching movies or baseball games. But, sometimes there comes those moments where you just want to leave the room, but your patient continues to talk. So, that said, here are some tips for getting out of such situations. 

1.  Respond to the patient as necessary. But, as the patient is talking, gather up your stuff, stand up, and make as though you are done with your work and ready to go. This should act as a good signal that you are ready to end the conversation. I find that this works pretty good most of the time. 

2.  It's best to signal that you have to leave after the patient finishes a thought (and before they begin the next one. You can say something like, "Great talking with you. I will see you again at 4 o-clock." For most people that's a pretty good clue that you are a busy person with work to do. The combination of this and #1 usually works great. 

3.  Another option is to talk to a coworker, such as a nurse or fellow RT. Tell that person something like, "Look, I'm going into Mr. Talker's room. If I'm not out of that room in 15 minutes send me a text. I will respond to it and pretend someone needs me right away." That usually works pretty well too. But, you don't want to do this too often as the person might catch on. 

4.  Just walk out while the patient's talking. Yeah, there are sometimes this is appropriate. There are times I've done this and I can still hear the patient talking to me as I'm walking down the hall. I would not recommend doing this on a regular basis, as it's not very nice. But, a good example of when this is appropriate is when there is an actual emergency in another room. 

5.  Another person, such as a nurse, enters the room. While this other person is busy occupying the patient, use this as an opportunity to slip out of the room. 

What to make of this? 

Steps 1-2 I actually learned in journalism school. I find that they work great as a journalist, and they also work great in the hospital setting. I find that these 2 steps work great for about 90% of people. But, there are also those situations where steps 3-4 come in handy. So, what about you? What are you tips for getting out of a room. Please share in the comments below.