For most people, we don't know a lot about being a good hospital visitor because it doesn't come up much.
Ideally, we don't have the need or opportunity to become experts in this area.
Most of the hospital visitors are coming to see patients in order to cheer them up.
But what is supposed to be helpful is sometimes hurtful instead.
We can feel very awkward around someone who is so ill or hurt that they need to be in the hospital, this can be hard to be around.
We can feel very helpless, which can make us act in strange ways even around a patient who is a loved one.
We aren't the ones who need special consideration or help in this situation though.
The patient is the sick one and he or she is the one who needs care.
When you are in the situation of visiting an ill loved one, consider the following points: Keep your visit short in most cases.
A half hour or less is best.
Remember that your loved one may have other visitors they need to see also, so a half hour may be too long.
You want to keep it to 10 or 15 minutes if you are one person of many.
You don't want your visit to prove too tiring for your loved one, and you don't want the visitation to become too rowdy with too many people involved.
Assuming that you are the only visitor, the patient is not overly tired and is actively glad to see you, and the hospital policy allows it, you can extend your visit for as long as the patient desires and can tolerate.
Don't discuss the patient's illness with them.
This sounds like common sense but bears mentioning.
The patient spends enough time thinking about and talking about their illness without having to go over it with visitors as well.
Let them have some time when they don't have to focus on the illness, but understand that they may want to talk about the illness at length.
Start the conversation with a question about how they are feeling.
This lets the patient be the one to determine whether or not you will be talking about their health.
If they answer or start talking about it, allow them to do so.
If they duck the question or answer with a short answer, change the subject.
Keep things positive.
Have a positive and cheerful demeanor, even if you are feeling very upset and sad.
The patient may seem very ill, and may look awful, but don't let them know that you are thinking this.
They need your support and positivity instead.
Ideally, we don't have the need or opportunity to become experts in this area.
Most of the hospital visitors are coming to see patients in order to cheer them up.
But what is supposed to be helpful is sometimes hurtful instead.
We can feel very awkward around someone who is so ill or hurt that they need to be in the hospital, this can be hard to be around.
We can feel very helpless, which can make us act in strange ways even around a patient who is a loved one.
We aren't the ones who need special consideration or help in this situation though.
The patient is the sick one and he or she is the one who needs care.
When you are in the situation of visiting an ill loved one, consider the following points: Keep your visit short in most cases.
A half hour or less is best.
Remember that your loved one may have other visitors they need to see also, so a half hour may be too long.
You want to keep it to 10 or 15 minutes if you are one person of many.
You don't want your visit to prove too tiring for your loved one, and you don't want the visitation to become too rowdy with too many people involved.
Assuming that you are the only visitor, the patient is not overly tired and is actively glad to see you, and the hospital policy allows it, you can extend your visit for as long as the patient desires and can tolerate.
Don't discuss the patient's illness with them.
This sounds like common sense but bears mentioning.
The patient spends enough time thinking about and talking about their illness without having to go over it with visitors as well.
Let them have some time when they don't have to focus on the illness, but understand that they may want to talk about the illness at length.
Start the conversation with a question about how they are feeling.
This lets the patient be the one to determine whether or not you will be talking about their health.
If they answer or start talking about it, allow them to do so.
If they duck the question or answer with a short answer, change the subject.
Keep things positive.
Have a positive and cheerful demeanor, even if you are feeling very upset and sad.
The patient may seem very ill, and may look awful, but don't let them know that you are thinking this.
They need your support and positivity instead.