Things We Do for No Reason: Standing at the Bedside
A Journal of Hospital Medicine commentary examines the common practice of hospitalists standing rather than sitting during bedside communication with patients. The authors review evidence that sitting instead of standing improves patients' perceptions of physician communication, including whether patients feel listened to and understood, without increasing time spent in the room. They conclude that physicians should make a conscious effort to sit at eye level with patients when possible and encourage hospital leadership to provide chairs or stools in rooms that do not have them.
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