Most effevctive sentences to say during an appointment to ‘help you feel you’re being taken seriously’
One of ITV’s resident doctors, Dr Nighat Arif, DL, has shared some of the ‘best’ phrases you can say at an appointment to ‘really feel like the GP is listening to you’, and to get the most out of the consultation. Taking to TikTok, the NHS and private GP uploaded a video explaining why certain phrases are effective to say.
In the footage, she reshares a clip from TikToker Robyn Holdaway, which went viral earlier this year. In it, Robyn and their partner Em go through a list of the most beneficial sentences to say at an appointment. The caption reads: “Cheat codes for doctors! These are some of the phrases that we, and our followers, have found helpful when dealing with medical professionals.”
Praising many of the sentences Robyn says, Dr Arif uploaded the same clip onto her account and went through extra advice to keep in mind, you can read the full list below. Dr Arif specialises in women’s health, family planning and menopause care. She has over 15 years of experience working in the NHS, and runs her own private practice. She is often seen on BBC Breakfast and ITV’s This Morning.
‘Best’ phrases to say at a GP appointment
- This is having a significant impact on my quality of life.
- This is having a significant impact on my partner’s quality of life.
- It is keeping me from doing normal day to day activities.
- I have had to take time off work because of the symptoms I’m experiencing.
- I have struggled to get appropriate care for this problem.
- Please, can you make a note why you are denying me this treatment?
- Could you please send a copy of my medical records to me after we’re done?
- Other people have noticed the problems I’m having and have said to me that it may be an issue.
- My pain is significant enough that I can’t sleep or can’t walk.
- I have recently lost X pounds and my symptoms have got worse
- I’ve spoken to all of the people involved in my psychiatric care and they agree that this is not a psychiatric problem.
- My pain can’t be managed with reasonable over the counter treatments.
- I have gone to all reasonable lengths to self manage this situation and I now need to escalate it.
- I am looking for X, Y, Z outcome from this appointment.
At the end of her video, Robyn adds: “Let them know exactly what you would like to happen as a result of you going in. And if at the end of this you’re still being denied the care you need, go in with, ‘please refer me onto a specialist’, because that’s amazingly passive aggressive. Or, ‘can you please refer me onto a colleague?'”
Responding to all the phrases mentioned above, Dr Arif said in the caption: “Please never feel you are the problem.” In the video, she told viewers: “Finally, I would say you are not being the problem, you are just advocating for your health. And the medical model is set up that we are very limited for time.
“And it’s really important to get through across your ideas, concerns and expectations. If you need to make a folder with all your information on. Particularly if you got different teams that look after you, take your ultrasound scan, your blood reports, because all the computer systems that we have within the NHS, they don’t all talk to each other.
“Most importantly, take someone with you, an advocate that can speak to you, particularly if you’re nervous. And it’s sometimes nicer to have another pair of ears that can listen to the doctor when they’re relaying information, cause that can be a lot of information to you.
“Finally write down questions you want to ask or feel things that haven’t been asked, write them down for the next consultation you can go back to and specifically ask for that. But I love this video and I just wanted to share it with you.”
In the comment section, many people praised the doctor for sharing the video and shared their own experiences. One person said: “The can’t sleep one has worked for me.” A second said: “I hate the defence of ‘this is causing my partner problems’ it should be enough that you need help for yourself to be taken seriously.” Dr Arif replied: “True – but this is just an example – can be ‘partner’, ‘children’, ‘my work’, ‘my earnings’, etc.”
A third put: “I hate that we have to learn passwords now to get doctors to listen.” A fourth said: “I have never had issues with the doctors like this.” Someone else said: “Yes definitely ask for a second opinion if you’re not being listened to.”