Takeaway
When a patient fell asleep during a biopsy, it highlighted that excellent care includes attending to physical and emotional comfort. When patients feel safe and relaxed, it strengthens the trust they have in you.
Passion in the medical profession | October 30, 2026 | 2 min read
By Lisa Mullen, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine
As a breast radiologist, most of my work involves interpreting images. However, unlike most radiologists, I have the opportunity to meet and interact with patients during diagnostic evaluations as well as during and after breast procedures. Some of my most meaningful interactions have been during and after biopsy procedures. Our procedures are performed under local anesthesia but without sedation, so the patient is awake and alert throughout the procedure. Patients are understandably quite anxious. I try to keep the patient informed about the progress of the procedure, while also making sure they’re calm and somewhat distracted. During procedures, I’ve had conversations about children, grandchildren, pets, hobbies, vacations, and also listened to music of the patient’s choice. Some people prefer quiet, and I honor that request as well. For ultrasound procedures, the patient is positioned supine or rolled into a supine oblique position, with a pillow under her head and another pillow behind her back. Our patient bed is cushioned and we offer a warm blanket. We try to make sure the patient is as comfortable as possible.
I recall a patient with a very busy life with little time for herself and very little time to come to the office for an ultrasound guided biopsy. When she arrived, we went through our usual checklist: verify patient name, date of birth, and side of procedure, explain the procedure and obtain informed consent, position the patient, provide pillows and a warm blanket, and perform a preliminary ultrasound to verify that we can see the target lesion and approach it safely. I made sure she was comfortable and then started the biopsy. After a few minutes, as I was explaining the next step of the procedure, I realized that I was just talking to myself, because the patient had fallen asleep. To me, this was the best possible compliment I could receive from a patient during a procedure, indicating that the patient was comfortable and relaxed enough to take a nap.
We should strive to keep the physical and emotional comfort of our patients in mind and do everything we can to attend to this. If a patient feels truly comfortable with us, if they feel safe, seen, heard, and cared for, they’re more likely to honestly express how they’re feeling or what they’re thinking and more likely to have a positive patient experience. When the time is right, they may just fall asleep!
Top tips for patient comfort:
1. Use a calm tone of voice with appropriate volume and cadence.
2. Use open body language.
3. Be seated (if possible) for patient discussions, including informed consent.
4. Answer patient questions honestly and completely.
5. Try not to appear rushed.
6. For a procedure, position the patient as comfortably as possible, using pillows for support.
7. Offer a warm blanket if appropriate.
8. Play soothing music or music of the patient’s choice.
This piece expresses the views solely of the author. It does not necessarily represent the views of any organization, including Johns Hopkins Medicine.