In order to assess whether a situation should be classified as extremely urgent, urgent, or non-urgent, asking the right questions is crucial. By asking two really good and relevant questions, you can assess the situation very quickly. Remember, you are doing a telephone triage and collecting a full medical history. As soon as you determine the urgency of the situation, you can offer an appointment appropriately. A barrage of questions is therefore not necessary; these can be discussed during the consultation. This way you keep your telephone conversation short and to the point.
An open question, by the way, can help you determine the urgency of the situation. If you ask an open question, you will receive much more information than if you ask a closed question. However, that does not mean that closed questions are necessarily bad. You can use closed questions to check whether the information you have given has been properly understood.
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Question 1 of 1
Quiz: Can you distinguish an open- from a closed question? Fill in the table below and find out!
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Open Questions
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Closed Questions
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Closed Questions
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Open Questions
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Closed Questions
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Open Questions
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Closed Questions
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Closed Questions
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Closed Questions
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Open Questions
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What did she eat this morning?
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Has she had anything to drink today?
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Can he put weight on his paw?
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How long has he had diarrhea?
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Has he had this before? Is the skin irritated?
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When did you first notice it?
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Has he had this before? Is the skin irritated?
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If I understand correctly, he vomited 2x this morning and didn't eat anything. Is that right?
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Which ear does he scratch the most?
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What did she eat this morning?
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An open question often starts with “who,” “what,” “where,” “why,” or “how,” and can be used to collect information. A closed question is a question to which the answer is often “yes” or “no.” You can use this as a check question, for example to check certain conclusions.
You can also ask leading or rhetorical questions. We do not recommend using these types of questions, because you often already fill in the answer. Moreover, they can lead to a socially desirable response. For example, a leading question could be: “Is he still eating and drinking well?” or “Do you know that it is good to deworm your pet monthly?”.
