This picture is not from our waiting room.  I am using it to illustrate the focus of this post.

Today I had the experience of sitting at the information desk of our Same Day Surgery Waiting Room while I was waiting for a patient to arrive who had requested a pre-surgery prayer.  Since I had been busy enough the day before that I had documentation to enter into our computer system I thought I would do the “efficient” thing and bring that material with me and enter as much of it as I could while I waiting.  It sounded like a good use of time.  While I was there many people had questions about how their patient was doing and came to me for answers.  I was not able to give them information but I did direct them to the next cubicle where the person there had the information the people needed.  One family did not know how to get to the holding room and need to be guided to that location.  I took them to that area and on the journey was able to get them to discuss their anxiety and offer some encouragement and also a prayer.  Then I began my normal visitation and met a family in the CVU waiting room.  Their patient had come back from surgery but was being settled in the room and still could not have visitors.  They were thankful they had a positive report from the surgeon, but still expressed they would feel a lot better once they saw the patient with their own eyes.  Waiting is not an easy experience when our emotions are high.  When I conclude a Waiting Room interaction and the people I deal with appear less anxious I feel good about the time I have spent with them.  Waiting Rooms are not the only place where we experience anxiety.  So I encourage you to take time and offer an empathetic listening ear the next time you see someone who appears anxious.  Anxiety is often not hard to spot, the picture above shows one way people position themselves while they are waiting and attempting to deal with their anxiety.