Takeaway
A patient's bedside table can offer meaningful clues about who they are. Asking about what you see—whether a photo of a beloved pet or a novel—can invite patients to open up about their life and medical concerns.
Connecting with patients | October 9, 2026 | 2 min read
By Kittane Vishnupriya, MBBS, Johns Hopkins Medicine
“Why three of them?” I asked myself, as I noticed three pairs of glasses on the table next to an older patient. As I introduced myself, I noticed he seemed a little disinterested—perhaps tired of his hospitalization after a fall. He barely uttered a word and seemed listless. Despite my best efforts, I could hardly get him to engage with me. Then I asked him, “Why three pairs of glasses?” and got a surprising answer. “One is for reading, the other is for distance, and the third belonged to my wife who passed away last year—I always keep her pair with me.” That started a conversation about him and his wife and soon, I had a much more engaged patient who not only shared details about his life and marriage, but also details about his fall that he hadn’t provided previously. This was key to understanding the etiology of his fall.
As an inpatient provider, I always think about how to connect with patients or build bridges when they hardly know me and often, a solution is on the table. A picture, a notebook, a novel, a magazine lying on the table—these often miss the attention of the care team, but are extremely helpful to connect with patients and sometimes solve medical problems. Here are some examples:
1. Finding a magazine on backpacking on the table led to a question on mountaineering that led to a deeper connection with a patient who’d hiked several mountains and trails.
2. A patient’s INR wasn’t moving up at all despite several days of warfarin and left us scratching our heads. It was only when we paid attention to his bedside table and noted multiple supplements with Vitamin K in them that we realized what was going on. I also recall the diagnostically mysterious case of fever of unknown origin that was solved after a consultant noted the picture of a pet parrot on the patient’s table—a resulting work up led to diagnosis of Psittacosis.
3. Breakfast on the table can be followed with, “How was breakfast today?” Answers can range from “The best French toast I’ve ever had” to “The worst breakfast ever.” Explore every response a little bit without judgement. When I encounter the latter response, I apologize and promise to work with clinical nutrition to make it to the patients’ liking. Either way, it can initiate the process of building relationships and trust.
4. A video playing on laptop or iPad is an invitation to ask about what the patient’s watching. It’s ok not to be a football fan or like the kind of music being played, but it’s important to be genuinely curious and nonjudgmental.
Of course, it’s not just things around the table. Take a look at the patient—their clothes, jewelry, tattoos—there just might be a story waiting to be explored and an opening to build trust. It’s a simple concept, but I’m always surprised how far it goes to building those bridges we all care about.
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”—John Muir
This piece expresses the views solely of the author. It does not necessarily represent the views of any organization, including Johns Hopkins Medicine.