A bit ago the discussion was about the different ways that an EMT can communicate with a patient. This includes touch, sign language, open ended question, closed ended question, and much more. So why is it important to keep eye contact when talking to a patient?
Eye contact relays interest and concern to the patient. Think how you would feel if you were the patient and someone else was the Emergency Medical Technician. Would you think that they cared about what you were saying if they were looking at their patient report tablet the whole time?
Not all patients are the same though? Some patients will shy away from direct eye contact. As I have spoken with several EMT’s, Paramedics, and Firefighters the census is that many mental health patients do not like to keep eye contact with other people. Men and women from Asian cultures usually shy away from direct eye contact. It’s believed that for women to hold eye contact with an Asian male it’s disrespectful to the male. While females will shy away from male and female eye contact.
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