hospital waiting room creative writing

The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus , a companion to The Emotion Thesaurus , releases May 13th.

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Setting Description: Emergency Waiting Room

June 5, 2010 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Automatic sliding doors, beat-up chairs (filled with people who have: broken limbs, cuts, red noses, bruising, scrapes, holding garbage bins to throw up in, are wearing surgical masks, are crying, have been beaten, are holding onto the person next to them for support, reading magazines, books, clutching at purses or holding tight to jackets slung over an arm, leaning back in their chair asleep), overflowing garbage bins, half finished coffee containers

Whispering, crying, uneven or distressed breathing, the sound of someone throwing up, moaning, groaning, whimpering, pleasing, praying, newspapers rattling, arguing, magazine pages flipping, the papery slide of a book page being turned, the pop and fizz of a pop can being opened, static-y police & security radios

Antiseptic, cleaning products, hand sanitizer, vomit, BO, sweat, booze breath, coffee, taco chips, perfume, hair products, cough drops, air conditioned & filtered air

Coffee in a container, pop, juice and water from a container, snack foods from a vending machine, mints, gum, nicorette. Most people try hard not to eat in the waiting room because of the risk of exposure to airborne and surface contaminants.

Thin padded or plastic seats offering little comfort or room, metal arm rails digging into forearms, making oneself ‘small’ and holding self straight to avoid touching those to either side, twisting the admittance band on wrist, rolling shoulders, crossing and recrossing legs, twisting a wedding band, rubbing eyes, pinching bridge of the nose, rubbing arms and shaking self in an attempt to stay awake

Helpful hints:

–The words you choose can convey atmosphere and mood.

I stared down at my hands, twisting and knotting them as if doing so would hold back the turmoil inside me. Despair roamed the room, expelled on the breath of worriers like me and those doing their best to bite down on the pain that brought them here.

–Similes and metaphors create strong imagery when used sparingly.

Example 1: (Simile)

After the symphony of coughing, hacking and wheezing that greeted Becky in the ER waiting room, she found the closest antibacterial hand dispenser and starting working it like a gambling addict hitting up a VLT machine.

Think beyond what a character sees, and provide a sensory feast for readers!

Setting is much more than just a backdrop, which is why choosing the right one and describing it well is so important. To help with this, we have expanded and integrated this thesaurus into our online library at One Stop For Writers . Each entry has been enhanced to include possible sources of conflict , people commonly found in these locales , and setting-specific notes and tips , and the collection itself has been augmented to include a whopping 230 entries—all of which have been cross-referenced with our other thesauruses for easy searchability. So if you’re interested in seeing a free sample of this powerful Setting Thesaurus, head on over and register at One Stop.

On the other hand, if you prefer your references in book form, we’ve got you covered, too. The Urban Setting Thesaurus and The Rural Setting Thesaurus are available for purchase in digital and print copies. In addition to the entries, each book contains instructional front matter to help you maximize your settings. With advice on topics like making your setting do double duty and using figurative language to bring them to life, these books offer ample information to help you maximize your settings and write them effectively.

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers , a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

Reader Interactions

June 7, 2010 at 10:50 pm

Great job, Angela!

Having spent more time with my late husband in the ER than I care to remember, I’d add:

Triage area Casting room (for broken bones) X-Rays/CAT Scan IV’s Blood pressure cuffs Isolation room for those with lowered immune system (there’s a name for it, but I can’t recall what it is). Heart monitors Admissions clerks taking information with computers on portable carts.

I could probably come up with more, but it’s late. 🙂

Blessings, Susan

June 7, 2010 at 6:31 pm

Since I’ve spent too much time in too many emergency rooms, your post struck a true chord with me.

It seems you’re fond of zombies. I found a new author site that details a zombie I don’t think I ever before read about : http://fictitiousflashes.blogspot.com/

Not mine. That would be too tacky. But blog just starting out. Lena shows great promise, and I thought it might be nice for all of us to pop in and surprise her with a warm, friendly hello. Roland

June 7, 2010 at 2:19 pm

The whiff of hand sanitizer hangs heavy over this post, Angela. In fact, I feel a cough coming on. I hope I’m not catching something. Or worse, getting MRSA!!!! AHHHH!!!

Hope your hubby is feeling better and life is getting back on an even keel.

June 7, 2010 at 1:31 pm

Great post! I’ve recently learned to do this…to close my eyes and take each sense at a time. To actually put myself there in the moment and write it. Not on the first draft, necessarily, but certainly on the revision. I’ve been there in the ER, and you put me right there again while sitting at my work desk!

June 7, 2010 at 1:42 am

wow angela, i’m always blown away by your attention to detail! another great post!!

June 6, 2010 at 6:05 pm

Thanks everyone for sharing and commenting. Sladly yes, this one os personal experience, although my waiting time was closer to ten fun-filled hours. Still, I filled the time looking at the room and the people, knowing it was a perfect setting to blog about. It helped pass the time a bit.

Sorry for everyone who is all too familiar with this one. Still I hope it helps anyone writing hospital ER room scenes (like the awesomo Lisa and Laura!)

June 6, 2010 at 4:55 pm

The crazies really do come out during a full moon. Can’t explain why, but working in an ER, I’ve experienced it!

June 5, 2010 at 11:47 pm

Excellent post – sounds like you were speaking from experience there 🙂

Shauna (murgatr)

June 5, 2010 at 11:41 pm

Great post! I write note like this every time I travel. 🙂

June 5, 2010 at 11:19 pm

The example with the simile made me laugh. I could perfectly visualize the gal working the sanitizer pump.

Actually they were all great. The sampling of senses have a wonderful amount of detail. Even though I hope none of us need to experience an ER visit personally.

June 5, 2010 at 10:12 pm

There’s part of our WIP set in a hospital and this post makes me itch to edit! Great work!

June 5, 2010 at 9:24 pm

Nice post. This is where I lack and it helps to think of it this way. Thanks,

June 5, 2010 at 2:22 pm

This is a place I know only too well. But at least the new Children’s Hospital ER is much nice than the old one.

June 5, 2010 at 12:20 pm

I’ve worked in quite a few hospitals and this is a good assessment. Though depending on the hospital (and the country), you could definitely work in even more smells!

June 5, 2010 at 12:18 pm

This is fantastic! It captured the feel of an ER room perfectly! Great inspiration, thanks!

June 5, 2010 at 11:13 am

Great stuff and timely for me considering how much time I have spent in hospitals recently. There is something about the combination of antiseptic smell and the ever present glare of white halogen lights that really destroys me when I am in a hospital, especially if I have to spend a long, cold night in an Emergency Room corridor with a grieving relative.

June 5, 2010 at 9:59 am

Great job evoking a place we’d rather not spend too much time in!

June 5, 2010 at 8:02 am

Angela, another extraordinary crafting post! Thanks for being so informative time and time again 🙂

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Write that Scene

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How to Write a Hospital Scene

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In a rush? Skip to part three…..

There are two different types of hospitals. Mental Hospital and the regular hospital we’ve all been in. For this scene in particular I will be focusing on the latter.

» A. Explain to your audience why the character(s) is in the hospital and whether or not it’s for them or a friend/family member.

I. What does the character bring and how long do they wait? Is it in the ER which is for emergencies or is in the regular waiting room. Please note: if someone was shot or given birth or the like, this person would get priority treatment in the ER.

II. Kids under the age of 18 would likely be on a pediatric ward. There are exceptions, for instance if the injuries sustained were severe enough to be in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) or possibly the step down unit. If they had to be revived but had no other injuries, they probably wouldn’t even be admitted to the hospital.

III. What happens in the waiting room, if anything? Are confessions made, friends met, someone arrested, or nothing because the person goes straight to a room? Any complaints made out of frustration or anguish?

IV. How is (whatever they are experiencing) affecting them? Were the character(s) on a adrenaline high after breaking their arm from falling off a motorcycle but now is feeling the pain? If so, have them scream in pain, cry, hit something, bit their lip, breath in and out hard. Let’s say they have a disease, then maybe they are praying, holding the hand of their loved one tight, closing their eyes, rocking back and forth in their chair, etc. If they are waiting for someone then maybe they do the same things as mentioned above.

Example 1: (Coming Soon).

» B. What do the doctors/ surgeons have to say? Anything good or all bad news? .

Note: The following can occur-

The doctor would say everything is okay and nothing needs to be done. Patient accepts and walks out. Maybe something minor is done like a cast for a sprain or a scan to check if any bones are broken. Even then, the character is fine and walks out free.
The doctor tells the patient everything is fine but the patient doesn’t believe them. They demand a second opinion or to be rechecked.
Doctor finds something wrong with the patient and character needs to stay in order to be diagnosed. Or leaves out the hospital with pills, in a wheel chair, or surgery schedule for something major (if that has not already occurred in the ER).

I. If the doctor finds nothing wrong with the character and the character agrees you can add the following in order to progress your story along: maybe a family member demands a recheck; or another doctor comes in with bad news of their own and apologizes that the other doctor almost missed the problem; a hug between the doctor and patient is given; or another problem is diagnosed that is not related to what your character came in to the hospital for.

II. If the character doesn’t believe the doctor; you can add the following: character becomes uncontrollable and becomes an endangerment to everyone around; therefore they are taken to a mental hospital; character continues to argue with doctor and if character is educated discuss why the doctor is wrong; character goes through another checkup to make sure they are free of anything. Maybe the results come back with something wrong.

NOTE: To be admitted into psychiatric care one has to meet a certain criteria. So the character could then be admitted after being in the hospital and after being assessed by a professional.

III. If something is found, then doctors may do even more checks with various devices such as MRI, ultrasound, EMG (for nerve tests), and so on. Be sure to identify the appropriate tests your character will take depending on their circumstance. Someone coming in for a cold will not need any scans unless the cold has lasted a month or several months. Maybe the patient has more symptoms than a cold and will get a test done. Don’t forget about blood tests.

Now, if something is found the doctor should tell the character how they will treat them and what are the next steps. Cancer has chemo therapy. Cysts and odd lumps has surgery and aspiration. Colds have medicine and a disease usually has pills. There is more to it than that, this is where you would have to do a bit more research.

Use this as a chance to bring multiple generations together. When a loved one is in crisis, usually their whole family unites, bringing a mix of personalities into the same place at the same time. The scene would flow naturally from there, based on the characters’ relationships to each other and primary motivations.

(Coming Soon).

» C.Emotions Cannot Be Ignored! !

I. It doesn’t matter what the doctor told your character, good or bad, what is your character feeling? As if a massive truck has been lifted from their shoulders when they found out their disease is curable.

II. If bad, what do they do, how are they feeling? Does the world stop, do they faint, do they become a statue. Now is the time to give you audience background about why your character took the news the way the did. Example:

III. What is promised to the character from the doctor? Usually a promise is made like, you will get better or it will not affect your work. Little promises that can mean a lot. So, have the doctor promise your character something that is important to your story. If your character is an athlete your doctor may promise him/her they will be able to play the sport again in a few short months. If your character is a singer and has laryngitis, the doctor may promise that even though their voice sounds like a pen scratching chalkboard now, she/her will be able to sing again. This promise is important because it gives the reader a since of the emotional aspect but also the technical aspect. Meaning, there is a cure for their problem. However, if the problem has no treatment then the doctor may promise them this: I will be with you along the way…. You still have a few short months to live… there is a cure being found in east Asia maybe in a few months they will allow me to use it on you.

Example 3: (Coming Soon).

Get into that atmosphere. Let it play a key roll in this scene. These examples will be primarily for the ER but can be used for others.

» A. Describe the room…

Low light on at all times, and there are cords hanging down for the nurses call button and the IV solutions.
An electronic machine sitting on a cart with odd wires leading from it,a privacy curtain hanging from a track on the ceiling.
The bedside table has several get well cards and a bouquet of flowers.
There is an aqua colored water glass with a bent straw in it, a half eaten tray of food with the big metal cover that was on the plate, and a telephone that doesn’t work.
Door is propped open, and nurses and orderlies walk by, their sensible shoes squeaking on the pristine tiles.
A TV hangs in the corner, tuned to the Reverend Bob H. Wells- who thinks you should write him a large check for a blessing- because the remote control is lost, and the TV is too high for the nurses to reach.
There are wires glued to the character’s chest and coming up through the neck of their hospital gown…the most embarrassing garment invented that has no back and lets every human know what the underwear look like.
The window has a mini blind on it, and a view of the roof of an adjoining building.
For those of you in a rush, here is some bits and pieces of What a Hospital Scene Will Contain:

» A. Entering the hospital:

Nurses trying to be helpful, directing you to where you would like to go.
The floor is shining clean, long corridors.
Signs in green saying EXIT.
Rooms with numbers on the doors.
Some doors are open and you can see the patient according to their situation, could be sleeping, visiting with a
relative, others with oxygen tubs applied at their noses.
At the Nurses Desk lots of laugh although the rule is of “Shhh”.
Nurses no longer wearing white starched uniforms neither white shoes or stocking go and come, many with dirty
tennis shoes, and instead of the uniform wear just regular half shirts .
The rooms could be private ( one patient in it) others could be semi-private ( two patients in one room)
Also it can be a Ward, meaning a long row of beds for a Charity Ward, this one is very sad to see.
If the doctors have the rounds they stop to check the chart of each patient.
When the person is bleeding or in with a heart attack they are taking immediately to the attention of the Physician on duty.
Describe the journey back home. Whether after a surgery or a general checkup.

» A. Leaving the doctors room, how does your character act?

I. Is their head hanging low from shame and sadness, head up high in pride and happiness? Hands clapped together for peace or in pockets for failure, remorse? Silent? Rejoicing to the high heavens?

II. Do they go home alone and if so where do they stop on the way? Are they so grateful for life that they say sorry to their mortal enemy. Do they go to a church to repent? Do they go home to do research on their problem? Do they call a friend? III. Maybe you can have the character speak to someone on the way out. Tell that person everything would be okay, or an update about their visit, or something to leave an imprint. Especially if a truck has been lifted off their shoulder. IV. Lastly, how is the news broken or given to their loved ones? In person? At the hospital where everyone gives a big hug of congratulations or sadness? Show who is important to your character and how they share the news with them. It will show a more-in-depth look at your character. The best way to understand anyone is when they are going through a crises. Show your audience who your character truly is and how they handle their news. Example 7: (No Example Added- but you can add one for your scene).

** !You might have to scroll down the textbox with your mouse!

coming soon

Chat Room [wise-chat]

6 thoughts on “ How to Write a Hospital Scene ”

I need this one to complete my book PLZ I need a outline

I will try to finish it by the end of this month, Amayah.

Hi! I can’t even begin to explain how AMAZINGLY HELPFUL this site is. I can use so many of these little pages; kidnaping for about 3-5 different stories of mine (also the starving one), the hospital one for the aftermath of the rescue. The “falling in love” one for young teenagers, and then the “first date” for two people who finally admit their feelings for each other.

I can use the funeral one for at least 2 stories. The dying, car crash, saying goodbye, flying, wedding, I mean this is like the best early Christmas present I’ve ever gotten. It’s all the help I need for my 12+ story in one place! I can’t believe I’ve only just now found this site, and I will DEFINITELY link it to my profile so my fellow readers can come and get help.

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! Who’s ever idea this one to make this webpage is a genius! 🙂

Glad to be of help, Reagan! Happy Holidays 🙂

MMMM. That was nice. But it didn’t let me combine the test. Is okay tho, found this Super helpful!!! ten out of ten, will definitely use this again.

Very helpful. What about an example of paramedics bringing into the ER a seriously injured victim of, say, a car crash, where they have suffered multiple fractures and perhaps have some internal bleeding. What would be some of the things the paramedic would report to the ER team? Who would be present and what would they be doing and saying from the moment the paramedics roll the gurney into the ER, the handover to ER staff, and perhaps even the initial few minutes of care in the ER?

Here is how to write hospital scenes:

Write hospital scenes by understanding the medical hierarchy, capturing authentic ambiance, using medical jargon sparingly, and emphasizing emotional dynamics. Consider the patient’s journey, relationships, and triumphs. Every element should enhance the realism and emotional depth of the scene.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to write hospital scenes.

1. Understand the Hospital Hierarchy

Digital Image of a hospital - How to Write Hospital Scenes

Table of Contents

Understanding the hospital hierarchy is crucial.

Hospitals aren’t just about doctors and nurses. They’re made up of an intricate web of professionals working cohesively.

Knowing the roles of various healthcare professionals adds depth to your scene.

Whether it’s an interaction between a resident and an attending physician, or between a nurse and a technician, understanding these dynamics can create tension or camaraderie in your writing.

As Dr. Smith entered the room, she nodded at the nurse. “How’s our patient today, Jane?” Jane, an experienced ICU nurse, responded, “Stable, but his oxygen levels dipped overnight. The respiratory therapist worked on it, and they’re improving now.”

2. Capture the Hospital Ambiance

The atmosphere in a hospital is unique.

The constant beep of monitors, the murmurs of visitors, and the distant announcements over the intercom form a backdrop to your scene.

A vivid atmosphere sets the mood.

Is it a quiet night or a bustling day? The ambiance can reflect the emotional tone of the scene.

The dimly lit hallway echoed with soft footsteps, punctuated by the occasional beep from a room further down. Somewhere, a baby cried, and a nurse’s voice softly tried to soothe.

3. Use Medical Jargon Judiciously

While it’s tempting to throw in medical terms to sound authentic, overusing them or using them incorrectly can confuse readers.

Medical jargon, when used correctly, lends authenticity.

But it’s crucial to ensure the reader can understand the context.

“We’ve started him on a course of IV antibiotics. His white blood cell count was high, indicating an infection.”

4. Show the Emotional Toll

Hospitals are places of healing, but they’re also where people face mortality, pain, and fear.

Capturing the emotional landscape provides depth to your characters and connects readers to the story.

Remember, not everyone in a hospital is a patient; families, visitors, and even healthcare professionals have their emotional journeys.

Nurse Daniels looked out the window for a moment, taking a deep breath to compose herself after the last patient’s passing. The weight of the day heavy on her shoulders.

5. Research Common Procedures

Researching common medical procedures can help you craft realistic scenarios.

Readers, especially those with some medical background, appreciate accuracy.

Getting the details right can boost your story’s credibility.

Sarah watched as the nurse prepared the IV line, ensuring all air bubbles were out before inserting it into her arm.

6. Distinguish between Different Wards

Not all hospital areas are the same.

An ICU differs from a maternity ward or a general patient room.

Distinguishing between different wards can help set the scene, tone, and pace. For instance, an emergency room scene will have a different urgency than a scene in a recovery ward.

The ER was a flurry of activity, with paramedics rushing in and doctors shouting orders. Two floors up, in the recovery ward, it was a different world. Here, the pace was slower, with patients resting and nurses moving quietly between rooms.

7. Remember the Role of Technology

Modern hospitals are technologically advanced.

From MRI machines to portable ECGs, technology is everywhere.

Incorporating technology not only adds realism but also can create tension or relief, depending on the situation.

The room was tense as everyone stared at the ultrasound monitor. A moment later, the unmistakable sound of a heartbeat filled the small space, bringing tears of relief to Maria’s eyes.

8. Understand the Patient Experience

Every individual’s journey through a hospital varies based on the reason for their visit, their past experiences, and their personal anxieties.

The emotional and physical state of a patient is central to their perspective.

They may be overwhelmed, scared, hopeful, or even indifferent.

A writer should consider these emotions when crafting their characters’ responses to treatments, their interactions with medical staff, and even their internal monologue.

Lying in the sterile room, Mark felt exposed. The cold sheets beneath him, the foreign sounds — everything made him uneasy.

9. Highlight Interpersonal Dynamics

Relationships and interactions are the lifeblood of any setting, and hospitals are no exception.

The professional and personal dynamics between staff members can add layers of complexity to a scene.

Perhaps two doctors have conflicting treatment philosophies, or a nurse and a patient share a poignant moment.

These relationships can be sources of both conflict and collaboration, driving the narrative forward and allowing for multifaceted character exploration.

Dr. Patel and Nurse Ramirez had a renowned partnership. Where one was, the other wasn’t far behind, their synchronized movements a testament to years of collaboration.

10. Address Ethical Dilemmas

The hospital setting is fertile ground for moral quandaries, given the life and death decisions made daily.

Ethical dilemmas force characters to confront their values and priorities.

This can range from debates about end-of-life care to the potential ramifications of experimental treatments.

Exploring these tough decisions can provide depth to your narrative and give characters opportunities to evolve and grow.

Faced with the choice of continuing treatment or opting for palliative care, Jenna’s family was divided, each member grappling with their convictions.

11. Don’t Forget the Waiting Rooms

While patient rooms are pivotal, waiting areas serve as intersections of myriad emotions and interactions.

Waiting rooms often encapsulate the anticipation, anxiety, and hope of families and friends.

They can serve as places of bonding between strangers, reflections on the past, or moments of unexpected news.

By delving into the microcosm of the waiting room, writers can unveil diverse human experiences and emotions.

As Sarah waited, she struck up a conversation with an older man, their shared worries forging an unexpected bond.

12. Include Flashbacks or Memories

Hospital environments, laden with emotions, can act as catalysts for characters to relive past experiences.

These flashbacks can be directly related to the current medical situation or completely tangential, offering insights into a character’s past traumas, joys, or significant life events.

Leveraging these memories can create juxtapositions with the present and highlight character growth or unresolved issues.

As the anesthesiologist spoke, Clara’s mind drifted back to her childhood accident — the reason for her phobia of hospitals.

13. Use Senses Beyond Sight

A multisensory approach makes a scene more immersive and vivid for the reader.

Hospitals are a cacophony of sounds, smells, and textures.

From the sterile scent of disinfectant to the soft hum of machines or the rough texture of a bandage, engaging multiple senses offers a comprehensive and engrossing portrayal of the environment, drawing readers into the scene.

The antiseptic smell was overpowering, the occasional distant cough and soft hum of machinery serving as a constant reminder of where she was.

14. Introduce Unexpected Humor

In the face of adversity, humor can act as a relief valve, revealing character resilience.

Moments of levity in tense or somber situations can humanize characters.

It can show their coping mechanisms or their attempts to uplift others.

This contrast can make the gravity of a situation even more poignant while offering readers moments of reprieve.

“You’d think after all these years, they’d find a gown that actually closes in the back,” mused John, earning a chuckle from the nurse.

15. Respect Cultural and Religious Sensitivities

Acknowledging the diverse tapestry of patient backgrounds enhances realism and inclusivity.

Medical decisions, comfort levels with treatments, and interactions with hospital staff can all be influenced by cultural or religious beliefs.

It’s important for writers to enrich their narrative with representation and respect for diverse perspectives.

Mrs. Khan hesitated, her cultural beliefs about modesty making her wary of the male doctor. Recognizing this, Nurse Garcia gently stepped in to mediate.

16. Show Fatigue and Stress among Healthcare Workers

Behind the clinical professionalism, healthcare workers grapple with the emotional and physical demands of their roles.

These professionals often bear witness to intense human experiences, from birth to death and everything in between.

Chronicling their exhaustion, moments of doubt, or instances of resilience can offer a balanced view of the hospital ecosystem.

Not only that but it can also emphasize the human element behind the medical expertise.

After a 16-hour shift, Dr. Lee’s steps were heavy. She paused for a moment, rubbing her temples, before moving on to the next patient.

17. Address the Financial Aspects

The economics of healthcare can be a significant concern for patients and families.

Financial worries can compound the stress of a medical situation.

Addressing these concerns — be it through the lens of insurance battles, out-of-pocket costs, or the broader healthcare debate — can root your story in real-world challenges, making it more relatable and timely.

The relief that her mother was recovering was overshadowed by the mounting medical bills that Amy now faced, a dilemma she hadn’t anticipated.

18. Highlight Moments of Triumph

Despite the challenges, hospitals are also spaces of recovery, healing, and miracles.

Emphasizing moments of success or relief, whether they’re medical breakthroughs or personal victories like a patient taking their first step post-surgery, can infuse your narrative with hope and inspiration.

These moments underscore the resilience of the human spirit and the dedication of medical professionals.

Against all odds, Mr. Rodriguez took his first steps after the accident, the entire ward cheering him on.

19. Include External Influences

The world outside doesn’t stop when one enters a hospital. External events can influence the internal dynamics of the setting.

By weaving in external influences, you can showcase the adaptability of the hospital environment and its staff.

Whether it’s a natural disaster leading to an influx of patients or a city-wide event affecting hospital operations, these external elements can add layers of complexity to your narrative.

As the city marathon was underway, the ER braced for a busy day, anticipating the influx of dehydration cases and potential injuries.

20. Detail Personal Keepsakes

Personal items offer glimpses into a patient’s world outside the hospital, grounding them in reality.

These keepsakes can act as symbols of hope, reminders of loved ones, or touchstones of normalcy in an otherwise clinical environment.

Detail these items and their significance to build deeper emotional connections between characters and readers.

Next to Mrs. Everett’s bed stood a framed photo of a young couple on their wedding day, a testament to a love that had weathered many storms.

21. Remember the Power of Touch

In an environment often dominated by machines and medical instruments, human touch stands out.

Touch, whether comforting or clinical, can convey a multitude of emotions.

A reassuring hand on a shoulder, a clinical examination, or a desperate grasp during a moment of fear can be powerful narrative tools, emphasizing human connection and vulnerability.

As the news settled in, James reached out, gently squeezing his sister’s hand. In that simple gesture, he conveyed the strength and support she desperately needed.

Check out this video about how NOT to write hospital scenes (Unless you’re going for pure comedy):

30 Words to Describe Hospital Scenes

The words you choose for your hospital scenes will alter the mood, tone, and entire reader experience.

Here are 30 words you can use to write hospital scenes:

Fluorescent
Reverberating
Crisp (as in uniforms)
Intermittent
Cold (as in touch)
Harsh (as in lights)
Labored (as in breathing)

30 Phrases to Write Hospital Scenes

Try these phrases when writing your hospital scenes.

Not all of the phrases will work for your story (or any story) but, hopefully, they will help you craft your own sentences.

“A symphony of monitors beeped in rhythm.”
“Whispers filled the corridor, punctuated by distant footsteps.”
“The scent of disinfectant was almost overpowering.”
“Nurses moved with practiced efficiency.”
“The weight of anticipation hung in the air.”
“A curtain rustled softly in the next bed.”
“Lights overhead cast stark shadows on the floor.”
“Intercom announcements broke the tense silence.”
“Machines whirred and clicked in the background.”
“Soft murmurs of comfort echoed.”
“Trolleys clattered past at regular intervals.”
“Gauzy curtains diffused the morning light.”
“A stifled sob broke the sterile calm.”
“The rhythmic pulse of the heart monitor filled the void.”
“The chill of the tiles was evident even through socks.”
“Hushed conversations ceased at the doctor’s arrival.”
“Labored breathing was the room’s only soundtrack.”
“A clipboard clattered to the ground, shattering the quiet.”
“The distant hum of an MRI machine grew louder.”
“The atmosphere was thick with a mix of hope and despair.”
“Patients lay in rows, separated by thin partitions.”
“The waiting area was a mosaic of emotions.”
“Doctors consulted charts with furrowed brows.”
“IV drips punctuated the silence with their steady rhythm.”
“A sudden rush of activity signaled an emergency.”
“Whirring fans attempted to combat the stifling heat.”
“Shadows played on the wall as the day waned.”
“The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, unceasing.”
“A lone wheelchair sat abandoned in the hall.”
“Gentle reassurances were whispered bedside.”

3 Full Examples of Writing Hospital Scenes

Here are three complete examples of how to write hospital scenes in different genres.

The hallway of St. Mercy’s was dimly lit, echoing with the soft murmurs of the night shift nurses.

Elizabeth walked slowly, her heels clicking on the tiles, each step feeling like an eternity as she approached room 309. The scent of antiseptics was faint but ever-present, reminding her of the weight of the place. As she pushed open the door, the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor greeted her, and in the dim light, she saw her father, pale but stable.

Tears welled up, not out of sorrow, but of gratitude.

2. Mystery/Thriller

Detective Rowe entered the ICU, the atmosphere thick with tension.

The overhead lights cast a harsh glow on the room where the city’s mayor lay unconscious. A nurse, her uniform crisp and white, glanced up, her eyes betraying a mix of curiosity and wariness. Rowe noted the machines surrounding the bed — their mechanical hums and beeps creating a symphony of medical surveillance.

He needed answers, and everything about this sterile room was a potential clue.

3. Sci-fi/Fantasy

In the celestial infirmary of Aeloria, walls shimmered with iridescent lights, and the air pulsed with ancient magic.

Elara, the moon sorceress, lay on a floating bed, her aura flickering like a candle nearing its end.

Surrounding her were crystal devices, pulsating and humming in an ethereal dance. Lyric, her apprentice, whispered an incantation, her voice intertwining with the mystical ambiance, hoping to revive her mentor with a blend of ancient spells and cosmic medicine.

Final Thoughts: How to Write Hospital Scenes

Crafting a compelling hospital scene is an intricate dance of authenticity, emotion, and meticulous detail.

For more insights on writing stories, please check out the other articles on my website.

How to Write Flashback Scenes (21 Best Tips + Examples)
How to Foreshadow Death in Writing (21 Clever Ways)
How to Write Fast-Paced Scenes: 21 Tips to Keep Readers Glued
How to Describe Crying in Writing (21 Best Tips + Examples)

Writing About
Tips For Writers

August 20, 2013

Writing about: hospitals.

"Once you plant yourself on one of the pews, cushioned in that churchly color of maroon red, you almost forget about all of the illness and sickness residing merely footsteps away from the Chapel. The altar literally sits directly below the statue of the blessed Mother. The Chapel is always open for patients, visitors and associates. It is a place of scripture, worship and prayer from which comfort, grace and blessing flow into the halls and rooms of Lourdes. My favorite part about having the Chapel located right in the center of the hospital is if I need to take a walk or stretch my legs after sitting with my mother for several hours straight, I simply take a few strides to the heart of Lourdes, and reflect as I gather my thoughts in prayer. It truly serves as my gateway to a better understanding and affirmation that my mom's struggles will soon be lifted."

TIP: If you're like a fellow blogger who commented and you're writing a story set in the future, I can't really tell you what the medical field will be like, but I imagine people will still act the same so you can still use these tips for your characters. But if you follow this link: http://bit.ly/1bOrbDR you can see what a hospital room can look like.

16 comments:

Having spent yesterday in hospital while my son had an operation, your article was incredibly apt. What I noticed most yesterday were the people - staff, patients and families - and the smells.

Thank you, Fi! I was able to write this article based off a lot of experience. I really hope your son is doing okay after his operation! <3

I relate to your post on so many levels. Thankfully, I have never been a patient, but my mother and tragically, my aunt, both have. We lost my aunt last month to lung and breast cancer. And my mother has been in and out of the hospital for two years now due to liver failure and a transplant. I've become accustomed to all of the different staff members and their moods, as well as the various smells that you come across from one floor to the next. My favorite part of the hospital where my mom stays is the church. Its beauty and divinity bring me a sense of solace when I need to be by myself in prayer for my mother and the rest of the patients. Your post today is very helpful for writers who need to build a strong connection for the reader. And if anyone needs any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask me! You mentioned that you, too, have had experience within the hospital, Chrys. I hope nothing serious but would love to hear more about it. Sometimes, it's good to talk to someone about these things. Thanks for sharing!

I'm sorry for your loss, Gina! And I am praying for your mother! Your posts about what you and your mother are going through are so moving. I'm glad that you (and Fi) were able to relate to this post because it confirms that I did it correctly. I've never been inside a hospital's church/chapel before since I've always been a patient, but that could be another place a character can go in a hospital. If you would like to write a couple of small paragraphs about a hospital chapel, I will add it to this post, include your name and the link to your blog. It would be a great addition! The longest I was in the hospital was for five days for spine surgery. I included a link at the bottom of the post to a story I wrote about my experience. My story starts on page 5 (at the bottom). I've also had two other minor surgeries, so I've had quite a bit of experience as a patient. Thank you for your comment! I really appreciate it!

Your prayers mean so much to us and I can't say thank you enough. They are the greatest gift and act of kindness that someone can give to another human being. My mother always asks me to thank those who pray for her so I'm sending a BIG Thank You from her, Cecilia. I would love to write a few small paragraphs regarding the chapel inside of the church. As soon as I have this ready for you, I will email you. I would also love to hear more about your experience, but I can't find the link at the bottom. If you wouldn't mind sending it to me, I'd appreciate it! I just noticed your FB below so I'm heading over there now. It's my pleasure to come by here!

Praying is the least I can do. :) Tell your mom she's welcome, and that I hope she will be in tip-tip shape soon! <3 Your paragraphs will really add to this post. I'm excited to read what you write, so maybe when I write about a hospital again I can put one of my characters in a chapel. :) Here is my email: [email protected] And here is the link to my essay: http://www.thewriteplaceatthewritetime.org/images/Winter-Spring_2013_-_Our_Stories.pdf You will have to scroll down to the bottom of page five. It is titled "Woman of Steel". And thank you very much for visiting and liking my page. I am truly happy to build a friendship with you. :)

This is great. The story I am working on right now has a character that visits his mother in the hospital, only this is 40 years in the future. So, I have to somehow think up how hospitals will look like in 40 years.

Hello, KC! I am glad this post can assist you with your story. Writing about futuristic hospitals will be tricky. I went on a little hunt to help you out. Here is a link of a picture of what a hospital room could look like based off a design by the American Medical Association and the Apple Store: http://bit.ly/1bOrbDR And then I found this general outlook for what the world would be like in 2050-2059: http://www.futuretimeline.net/21stcentury/2050-2059.htm GOOD LUCK! :)

Thank you for sharing my post about the Chapel inside of Lady of Lourdes Hospital; that means so much to me, Chrys! The next time I go to there to visit my mom, I'm going to show her nurses and some of the doctors. They will love it! I never realized how much the hospital and Chapel affected me until spending so much time there. Your advice and techniques are going to help a lot of authors who need to create these kinds of settings. Especially when they have to search deeply enough to make the reader feel everything that the patient and other characters are going through.

Knowing that this post means a lot to you, and that you're going to show it to your mom's nurses and some doctors fills me with so much pleasure! Thank you for your kind words! Helping writers to write these sense authentically for patients (both real and fictional) was my goal, and having confirmation that it does makes me so happy. :) Give your mom a gentle hug for me. <3

Those are good points that will help writers to create the correct atmosphere with their descriptions.

Thank you! :)

Really helpful I'm writing a story where one of the characters falls off a balcony and ends up in the ICU, and that was really, really helpful.

Sounds like an interesting story. And yikes for your character! Good luck with your hospital scenes!

Please help me. My character was stabbed and was passed out in the hospital for three days. 1. Is a feeding tube necessary? 2. Is three days too long? Thanks!

Unconscious is a better term than "passed out." :) I'm not e medical professional. Usually the most during that time period they;d have is an IV and a catheter. It would be best if you did this research for yourself, though. You could probably find the answer on Google.

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HOSPITAL ROOM

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HELPFUL TIP:

Textures and sensations:, possible sources of conflict:, people commonly found in this setting:, setting notes and tips:, related settings that may tie in with this one:, setting description example:, techniques and devices used:, descriptive effects:.

[Writing Prompt] Setting The Scene

Write A Story Set In A Hospital (or any other high-tension setting, if you’re not familiar with hospitals)

This week we are concentrating on the different parts of the short story. Of course ALL the elements need to be there, but each of these prompts focuses on a particular element more than the others.

How did your character writing go yesterday? Did you learn any interesting lessons about creating a character with a strong desire, that you can carry forward into your future stories? Did you leave a comment or post in the community ?

Today we’re focusing on setting.

You still need to include fully-realized characters, each with specific (and possibly opposing) desires. (For example, your patient might just want to go home. Their doctor probably wants them to stay put for now. Their next-of-kin might have a whole other set of issues and the nurses probably just want to go somewhere quiet and put their feet up for a few minutes…)
Make the setting integral to the story. Have events that could only happen in this high-tension setting.
Use all your senses to set the scene — everyone talks about the smell and the colors of hospitals, but what about the noises? I heard a news story on the radio recently about the incessant beeping of alarms in hospitals. That was something I wouldn’t otherwise have thought of. And again, someone once told me how it hurt them that their child’s hospital blanket felt so rough. All they could think of was getting a fuzzy blanket for the child. These are the kinds of details that bring a story alive.
If this setting doesn’t work for you, check out these other prompts I’ve provided with different (possibly more cheerful) settings.

8 thoughts on “[Writing Prompt] Setting The Scene”

Better late than never! I don’t think I incorporated enough setting details, though. My characters decided to take over the scene! http://carriegreen.tumblr.com/post/85580664028/a-story-a-day-in-may-9-5-9-14

Didn’t think this prompt was going to speak to me, but, boy, did it! =) Happy to have my first synthetic-life story of the month.

Day #9– “She Asked If I Would Rust”, 1903 words. http://idreamagain.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/day-9-she-asked-if-i-would-rust/ Password: scribophile

well, back on track after yesterday’s distractions did not allow for the prompt. short story today, but it has the possibility of growing into something bigger

Excellent. I foresee a June/July of reworking and revising for a lot of us!

I didn’t want to write this prompt. All my ideas were dreadfully sad. It’s not my favorite, but it’s written. It’s not even too incredibly sad!!!

Glad you found a way to escape the sadness!

yesterday (Day 8) was very interesting. My character and his desires evolved from real incidents that happened to real people but all of them rolled into one. I feel like the story may have needed more to complete it but I liked the development of it. Writing out 15 ways the character could achieve the desire was an interesting exercise and very useful for generating potential story lines. I tried a few de bono’s hats in the exercise to loosen up my own -what I would actually do vs what my character could do. Great prompts thank you.

Oh, that’s a good idea: what I would do vs what my character would. I read an article once that recommended thinking about people who scare you and what THEY would do. That was useful, because until then I hadn’t found a way into thinking through the actions of someone whose ethics and actions didn’t match my own.

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WHERE I WRITE #15: The Hospital Room

Erin lyndal martin.

August 3, 2011

Writing affirms life. I had been having a panic attack for 30 hours, had been shaking so hard that my spoon clanged against my teeth when I tried to have yogurt. I was at work that day, my hands clattering all over the keyboard, my head going so fast as I tried to slow down for the minutiae of my job. I left work early to go to the hospital. In the waiting room, my thoughts suddenly took on a direction, not merely speed but velocity. Now what mattered was the short story I was writing on. What job should my narrator have? Could she be a florist, a baker, a secretary? I made a list of possible ones, finally settling on tour guide , which I circled in my green notebook. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t had my notebook that day. Curled up on an ER cot, I listened to my iPod and jotted down details. I saw police bring in a handcuffed drunk. They cuffed him to the bed next to mine. I didn’t know why he was in cuffs; I just heard him threaten the Weymouth Police Department repeatedly at top volume. I was immediately not only curious but engrossed in his story, in the absurdity of the whole situation. I was so fascinated that I started recording him on my cell phone. I listened to him, letting his whiskey-inspired profanity and volume wash over me, drowning out my headphones. I heard him slowly sober up, heard the f-word gradually fall out of his vocabulary. He inevitably pulled back the curtain between us and asked what my name was. I told him it was Josephine, an in-joke I have with myself. For whatever span of time I was there, I was Josephine with the green notebook. I was listening. I was taking notes.

The last time I was in a hospital, the first thing I reached for was scrap paper from my purse. I was putting on a gown, and I started thinking how the only times we use the word gown , we mean either a hospital or a wedding, and that thought was fast becoming a poem. This gown was blue plaid. I have never worn a wedding gown. In the hospital, every detail is important.

“Physical pain has no voice, but when it at last finds a voice, it begins to tell a story,” writes Elaine Scarry in The Body in Pain. The voice of my physical pain was not a scream or a groan; it was me muttering to myself as I tried to find the perfect slant rhyme for gown. It was me remembering that I had once had a lover on Twin Flower Lane, me trying to write out all the details of an Independence Day we’d spent together in his bedroom studded with graphite cutouts of birds he’d made. Syllables fell along with every precious drop of morphine blissfully entering my bloodstream in an attempt to soothe the sharp scissoring in my abdomen. And when they took me to have an ultrasound of my belly, my pain was working on another story. In a short story I’ve been writing, I have a mermaid getting an ultrasound of a wound, and, having never had an ultrasound, I was so glad to finally have a chance to get the details right. There were pictures of palm trees on the ceiling to look at. The technician was playing pop radio, and Evanescence’s “Call Me When You’re Sober” was blaring when I was wheeled in. The ultrasound goo was surprisingly warm. The technician put a paper towel over my breasts so the goo wouldn’t cover them.

A housekeeper came in to change the linens and said, “So, I hear you’re getting your gall bladder out tomorrow.” The doctors hadn’t told me that yet. I was scared. I was lonely. I was grumpy. I was hungry. I was in love with the idea of being cut open. I was in love with the idea that they could use cameras to rearrange my insides. It mattered how many millimeters each incision was, how many there would be, and where. It mattered how, after the surgery, a huge bandage covered my belly button, and how I’d never before realized how important it was to be able to touch my belly button whenever I wanted to. After a liquid dinner and a dilaudid IV, I was able to think about the other things that mattered. I thought about how I was lying under a white sheet, and how in photographs we see white sheets covering dead bodies, not live, healing ones.

I didn’t write about the white sheets until the next time I was in the hospital, two weeks later, when my stomach started screaming at me again. I got reacquainted with dilaudid and opened my laptop. This was the day after the shootings in Oslo, the day after Amy Winehouse died, the day of too many photographs of white sheets, the day I’d, ironically, been reading Sontag’s Regarding the Pain of Others.

Elaine Scarry also writes that when “One hears about another person’s physical pain, the events happening within the interior of that person’s body may seem to have the remote character of some deep subterranean fact, belonging to an invisible geography that, however portentous, has no reality because it has not yet manifested itself on the visible surface of the earth.” My job as a patient is to describe my pain, to give it a visible geography by saying the right words, unearthing the truest facts of my condition via the precise adjectives: dull, upper left, an eight on a scale of one to ten. “People want the weight of witnessing without the taint of artistry,” Sontag writes. Doctors (and undertakers) are the ultimate witnesses of our bodies, understanding our own selves in ways we never could. Yet, they can never occupy our pain, or anyone else’s. In that way, doctors are just like the rest of us. All we have is witnessing. All we have is writing.

Erin Lyndal Martin is a creative writer, music journalist, and artist. Her work has recently appeared in Salon , No Depression , Gigantic Sequins , and Yalobusha Review .

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HFM Daily offers blog coverage by the award-winning HFM editorial team and links to in-depth information on health care design, construction, engineering, environmental services, operations and technology. You can read HFM Daily stories on this page or subscribe to Health Facilities Management This Week for a Friday roundup of the week's posts.

Health care design for the waiting experience

Three recent studies show how passive strategies can influence the patient experience.

Image from Getty Images

A major part of health care is waiting, and prior research shows that the experience is often stressful and can impact the perception of overall quality of care. However, there is a great design opportunity to reduce anxiety through positive distractions, to facilitate education and to prime patients for the best possible health care experience.

The Center for Health Design’s Knowledge Repository includes numerous studies around the link between waiting room design and health care outcomes. Three recent articles are highlighted here.

While waiting is difficult for all of us, it can be especially challenging for our smallest patients. Research out of China by Qi and colleagues looks at specific design factors that support a positive experience for children and their parents in the pediatric waiting room. They found strong links between several design factors and satisfaction, including functional layout (e.g., large, open waiting rooms that provide space for privacy and dedicated space for strollers), flow organization (e.g., easy access to bathrooms and clear wayfinding), environmental details (e.g., views of nature) and supporting facilities (e.g., comfortable seating). Supporting facilities seemed to have the greatest impact on overall satisfaction with the waiting space.

Related Resource

The center for health design knowledge repository.

Waiting rooms often are full of health information, but do patients notice? And what form of information is most effective? A study by Penry Williams and colleagues asks these questions and looks at how patients engage with content like televised health education while waiting for their appointment. Even though nearly everybody is glued to their mobile device while passing the time in a waiting room, this study found that patients still tend to engage with magazines, pamphlets and other educational content around them in the waiting room. The authors note that the patient engagement is mostly passive; they seem to notice the messages, but they are not necessarily following up on what they learned in subsequent conversations with providers.

What are some of the other passive activities in the waiting room that might affect our health care experience? A literature review by Lai and Amaladoss takes a neurobiological approach to understand the effect of listening to background music in the waiting room. In this study, the researchers focus on how different types of music in the waiting room affect the patient experience. While the authors found a paucity of reliable evidence for hard conclusions, they suggest that Western classical music — or other music with a slow tempo (around 60 beats per minute), consonant harmonic characteristics and predictable dynamics — may be the best option in the waiting room for reducing anxiety. The authors also found that giving patients control over the music selection (e.g., via headphones) can improve the experience.

The waiting room has a captive audience, and thoughtful waiting room design has the potential to set the stage for the clinical interactions that follow. To read more on how design can impact the experience of waiting, as well as many other topics related to health care design, readers should log on to The Center for Health Design’s Knowledge Repository.

Research used for this column

The following citations from The Center for Health Design’s Knowledge Repository of health care design resources were used by the author when writing this column:

Y. Qi et al., “Evidence-Based Design for Waiting Space Environment of Pediatric Clinics — Three Hospitals in Shenzhen as Case Studies,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 , no. 22 (2021).
C. Penry Williams et al., “Patient and Clinician Engagement with Health Information in the Primary Care Waiting Room: A Mixed Methods Case Study,” Journal of Public Health Research 8 , no. 1 (2019): 1476.
J. C.-Y. Lai and N. Amaladoss, “Music in Waiting Rooms: A Literature Review,” HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal , 2021, in press.

About this column

“Design Discoveries” highlights research from The Center for Health Design’s Knowledge Repository , a user-friendly library of health care design resources. This research effort is supported by the American Society for Health Care Engineering, the American Institute of Architects, the Academy of Architecture for Health Foundation and the Facility Guidelines Institute.

Rural areas still waiting for digital health care

Addressing the future of health care design

Assessing the current and future state of health care design

Waiting Rooms, Art, and Equity

Blog by Alice Wang BS, Sidharth Chand BA, Hyewon Hyun MD, Megan Carleton ATR-BC, Daniel B Chonde MD-PhD

ONEEVERYONE by Ann Hamilton, at the Dell Medical School building in Austin (permissions obtained)

Introduction

Marginalized communities, especially communities of color frequently feel isolated and excluded from the healthcare system. A clear history of neglect, mistreatment, and experimentation has engendered mistrust of health providers and medical institutions. As entrenched inequities in healthcare continue to be recognized and addressed, the art in medical spaces presents as an overlooked opportunity.

While the therapeutic benefits of making art or the use of art in medical training have been well explored – for instance art therapy to improve patient well-being and art observation to improve medical diagnostic skills – less attention has been given to the art that hangs on the walls of medical spaces. The prevailing methodology, supportive design 1 , emphasizes that art can provide a sense of control, positive distractions from illness, and social support by tapping into each patients’ individual, social, and cultural histories. This framework has been validated in numerous example studies 2,3 . By engaging patients as individuals with distinct sociocultural identifies, curated waiting room art has the potential to create inclusive and safe clinical environments. However, there is minimal discussion on this topic, especially how art affects the patient experience for underserved individuals.

The colorblind waiting room

Despite its potential for inclusivity and representation, common implementation of supportive design in US clinical spaces often defaults to a colorblind aesthetic 3,4 . Nature and landscapes, subdued themed photographs, and abstract paintings predominate in clinical spaces, conveying tranquility and healing while avoiding references to race, culture, language, and sexuality. Art in medical spaces is akin to muzak, the unobstrusive music played in elevators and department stores; it typically fosters an inoffensive, colorblind aesthetic. The issue is these images and pieces of artwork implicitly rely on Eurocentric symbolism, failing to depict social and cultural realities for diverse patient populations. Thus, underserved individuals can experience colorblind imagery as exclusionary or alienating.

Equity not equality—Creating welcoming spaces

This colorblind aesthetic, derived from the theory of supportive design, reflects an intention to create equality: equal access to all people regardless of gender identity, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Despite this intention for inclusivity, the need for equitable representation is not addressed. Inclusive design, in contrast with supportive design and with colorblind aesthetics, emphasizes equitable representation. By visually depicting figures and symbols that resonate with minority populations, these visuals include their experiences. Equity in waiting room art means choosing to represent the forms and figures that typically go unseen or are overlooked – for instance images of aloe plants and portraits of people of color – which signal to minority populations that their sociocultural histories are acknowledged, included, and welcomed.

Research has shown that effective use of representative imagery and symbolism from specific groups serves to establish alliance and improve patient trust. A multicenter study on caring for of LGBTQA youth found that displaying visual symbols of support like the pride rainbow helped queer youth identify spaces in which and people with whom they felt safe to disclose their identities 5 . Symbols specifically representing underserved populations are “informational shortcut[s]” that provide meaningful prefaces for clinical encounters. These visual cues can be present both inside and sometimes literally outside of clinical spaces, as in the mural The Love I Vibrate recently painted on the outer wall of the Howard Brown Health Center in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago. This stunning work serves a dual purpose: ornamentation and representation. Its location on the outer façade. Such visual cues will create a sense of care and safety for these patients, helping to establish rapport and gradually build trust within the healthcare system. These findings support symbolism in waiting room art as a means of representation for diverse patient populations and their sociocultural histories.

We can learn from international health systems that have recognized the sociopolitical power held by hospitals and medical spaces. By integrating representative art, telling stores of the past while finding direction for the future, these institutions align themselves with the patients they serve. The longstanding tradition of murals within Mexican hospitals, which almost act as large-scale waiting room art, are a compelling illustration of art in clinical spaces that connects with social reality. These murals depict an abundance of figures and scenes reflecting “death, struggle, disease, and social injustices,” transforming the hospitals they decorate into “distinctly Mexican urban objects” 6 . These artworks contrast against the typical idealized and neutralized representations commonly seen in hospitals and instead underline a hospital’s connection to the society in which it exists. The usual United States medical space, by employing a colorblind aesthetic, fails to take ownership for injustices experienced by minority patients, forfeiting the potential to remedy historical wrongdoings and build alliances for the future.

Certain hospitals in the United States are no stranger to sponsorship and installation of artwork and exemplify themes of inclusion and representation in some of their curations. A particularly salient example is set by NYC Health + Hospitals, the public enterprise charged with administering city hospitals and clinics that also houses the largest public art collection in New York City. Among the thousands of artworks on display, large murals in common spaces and waiting areas stand out. Man Emerging is one such piece in the foyer of the Harlem Hospital Center created by Charles Aston in 1963 during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The posing of a diverse throng marching together with heads lifted upwards eyeing the future emphasizes themes of togetherness and progress that uniquely resonate with the Black experience of the time. The location of this artwork in Harlem, a storied neighborhood and origin of its namesake renaissance, cements the hospital as an institution in service of the people who live around it. Other medical spaces elsewhere in the United States can learn from this example of inclusion and representation catalyzed by art on public display.

Inclusive design means fostering authentic representation through visual representation. We advocate for the inclusion of themes, symbols, and images meaningful to and representative of minority individuals in waiting room art. It is important to support the work of minority artists while also accounting for the experience of the viewer. There is a temptation to showcase works of art that align with the colorblind aesthetic and coincidentally are created by minority artists. Supporting minority artists is undeniably important; however this practice tokenizes the artist’s identity and can feel culturally exploitative. As we consider the experience of the viewer, these colorblind works art – albeit beautiful – do not optimally connect with or represent the viewer’s identity. Unlike in a museum, waiting room art is not typically accompanied by information about the artist, limiting the extent to which viewers can connect with the artist’s identity; a minority viewer has no way of knowing that the art was created by a minority artist. At the heart of inclusive design is authentic visual representation of symbols that resonate with minority viewers and genuine support for minority artists, both of which should be integrated into medical spaces.

While inoffensive, the colorblind aesthetic of art in medical spaces fails to connect with the social, cultural, and historical diversity of the individuals viewing the art. A transition toward inclusive design through thoughtful integration of symbolism and representation can help patients feel seen, bolster alliances between minority populations and their care providers, and support the overall need to address inequity in the healthcare system. Curation of artwork for medical spaces should depicts themes, symbols, and figures that resonate with and represent minority individuals. Authentic representation, alongside with wholehearted support for minority artists, can allow us to realize the full potential waiting room art has in enhancing the patient experience and addressing health inequity.

Ulrich, R., & Gilpin, L. (2003). Healing arts – Nutrition for the soul. In S. B. Frampton, L. Gilpin, & P. A. Charmel (Eds.), Putting patients first: Designing and practicing patient-centered care (pp. 117–146). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass – A Wiley Imprint.
Lankston, Louise, et al. “Visual art in hospitals: case studies and review of the evidence.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 103.12 (2010): 490-499.
Andrade, Cláudia Campos, and Ann Sloan Devlin. “Stress reduction in the hospital room: Applying Ulrich’s theory of supportive design.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 41 (2015): 125-134.
Hanson, Hazel, et al. “Preferences for photographic art among hospitalized patients with cancer.” Oncology nursing forum. Vol. 40. No. 4. Oncology Nursing Society, 2013.
Wolowic, J. M., Heston, L. V., Saewyc, E. M., Porta, C., & Eisenberg, M. E. (2017). Chasing the rainbow: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth and pride semiotics. Culture, Health & Sexuality , 19 (5), 557–571. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2016.1251613
Soto Laveaga, G. (2015). Building the nation of the future, one waiting room at a time: Hospital murals in the making of modern Mexico. History and Technology , 31 (3), 275–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/07341512.2015.1130290

Alice Wang is a medical student at Harvard Medical School in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program. She is passionate about integrating the arts to enhance the practice of clinical medicine. Twitter: @alice_wang3 Website: alicewang.weebly.com

Sidharth Chand, MS is a student at Harvard Medical School. He is interested in the intersection of arts and medicine to create welcoming spaces for diverse patient populations. Twitter: @SidharthChand6

Megan Carleton, , LMHC, ATR-BC is a board certified art therapist and licensed mental health counselor. She is the artistic director for The Peoples’ heART. Website: www.thepeoplesheart.or g

Hyewon Hyun, MD is the founding Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. She has developed and launched novel educational curricula in collaboration with art educators at the Harvard Art Museums for radiology and nuclear medicine residents as well as for under-represented high school, college and first-year medical school students who seek to pursue STEM careers. Website: www.thepeoplesheart.org

Dan B Chonde, MD PhD is the diversity, equity, and inclusion chair of the American Roentgen Ray Society and involved in a number of other healthcare related diversity initiatives. He is the executive director for The Peoples’ heART. Twitter: @DanChondeMD Website: www.thepeoplesheart.org

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public institutions
Riverview hospital

Women are so connected to their need to feel good and look good that a critical element of women's health care is beauty. If we were serious about healing women, especially mental health, then all departments of hospitals would have beauty, haircare, yoga and dance fitness elements. We are not machines for tinkering with. We need holistic care.

The hospital stood as monument to the best of humane humanity.

The hospital took care of the soul and the body that is its palace.

There is a quiet kind of "cheerful," the soft kind that comes as a quiet river on a sunny day. It is a way of being that allows others a positive space to open up into, a space that is ready to support their emotions and needs. There is of course a time and place for the loud kind of cheerful, yet here in the hospital it can have the effect of closing people down - after all it is challenging to express sad feelings to a person who appears so far removed from those emotions.

The sanctity of the patient, their humanity, is what this hospital strives to uphold - especially in challenging times.

In the pandemic we turned hotels into pop-up hospitals, "deputising" volunteers in as our staff.

"In this hospital bed my medicine is my memories, the good times we shared. My peace is our love, that which connects us always. You, the one who holds my heart as if it were a precious gem; you are my doctor. So though I am here, you are still the one who keeps me strong."

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14 Ideas to Transform Your Waiting Room

Waiting rooms are a major pain point in the patient experience.

Emotions – anxiety, fear, confusion, frustration, annoyance – are running high. When you combine that with uncomfortable seating, stacks of old magazines, and overcrowding, it’s no wonder people dread going to the clinic. But help is on the way. Here are several ways to turn passive waiting into active care, wasted time into opportunity.

1. Create a Waiting Room Concierge

As part of our Cultivate Fund, West County Health Centers successfully piloted a new staff role to assist and engage patients: the waiting room concierge . Unlike front desk staff, concierges place themselves in the waiting room with patients, greeting new patients when they arrive and answering questions. Concierges help patients check in. And, recapturing wasted downtime in the waiting room, the concierges assist with agenda-setting by asking patients what they are hoping to discuss during their visit; this helps providers to prioritize and make the best use of their time with the patient, and it allows the medical assistant to focus on their critical tasks.

La Maestra Family Clinic, through our Reimagined Care Challenge, put a different spin on the concierge role by focusing on raising awareness about the clinic’s non-medical, social services. Concierges greet people waiting for their appointments, asking them if they’re interested in enrolling in La Maestra’s programming in yoga, art, financial literacy, youth afterschool activities, legal advocacy services, and more. If the answer is “yes,” the concierge is ready with flyers, contact information, and a sign-up sheet to receive more details.

“I do not feel as hectic when I start my work shift,” said Nageli Luna, La Maestra’s lead patient service representative. “Previously, there would always be a line of patients waiting to ask how long they had to wait. Now with this information provided, the whole waiting room is much calmer and this helps the staff to deliver better care for the patients.”

2. Offer Nutritious Snacks

For many patients living in poor and rural areas, access to fresh fruits and vegetables is scarce. Open Door Community Health Centers tackles this problem directly by growing its own food. Clinics display baskets of garden-grown produce in waiting rooms, labeled with a sign that says “help yourself.” Care teams are trained to look for signs that patients haven’t had enough to eat and then offer a snack. The staff also encourage patients to take home a bag of food.

3. Hang Artwork

Art calms and soothes. Multiple studies confirm that patients prefer landscapes and nature scenes, compared to abstract paintings and portraits. In fact, some research says “ chaotic abstract art ” can actually increase patients’ stress.

4. Install Check-In Kiosks

Self-serve kiosks are everywhere – airports, hotels, grocery stores, restaurants, banks, movie theaters. Now safety-net providers are installing them to help patients “check in” at waiting rooms across the country.

For a small investment, these kiosks are helping speed patient registration, copayment collection, language translation, and the signing of consent forms. At the same time, pilots have demonstrated that kiosks can boost patient satisfaction by reducing waiting times, offering greater convenience, and creating more privacy.

Petaluma Health Center, as part of its Cultivate Fund project, took their iPad kiosk to the next level by collecting social determinants of health (SDOH) data. After patients check in for their appointments, they’re asked a series of questions about their food security, housing, income and other factors outside the walls of the clinic.

Shasta Health Center piloted the Seamless Patient Platform to streamline their check-in process and improve their data quality. “Replacing paper with an iPad eliminates the use of thousands of sheets of paper and reduces one’s carbon footprint. It also eliminates time-consuming, paper-related tasks such as data entry, scanning documents, shredding paper, and managing paper files,” said David Perez, CEO of Seamless Medical Systems, which counts the CHCF Health Innovation Fund as an investor. “These efficiencies allow practices to focus on providing customer service and clinical care, as opposed to paperwork.”

5. Cluster Your Chairs

Seating density matters, says Steelcase, the leading manufacturer of furniture for hospitals. The furniture company’s researchers partnered with a major academic medical center in the southeastern United States to better understand the problems with waiting rooms. It discovered that 20 percent of occupied chairs held personal items or drinks.

By creating small group seating and providing storage, the medical center actually needed fewer seats. “This isn’t about packing the most people in the waiting room,” said Michelle Ossmann, director of health environments for Steelcase Health. “Simply giving people some additional physical space also gives them additional emotional space.”

6. Add a Children’s Play Area

Research shows that children’s play areas help reduce waiting room anxiety. Hard toys are easier to clean and disinfect than soft toys.

7. Distribute Pagers

Inspired by Applebee’s, West County Health Centers started handing out pagers in its waiting rooms. Patients can go for a walk outside and even grab a cup of coffee down the street. When it’s time for their appointment, West County will give them a buzz.

8. Introduce Your Care Team

Hospitalized patients often see a revolving door of doctors, nurses, specialists, and technicians. Families of patients have trouble keeping track of all these new faces, and it’s difficult to comprehend how all these medical professionals are working together.

Innovators at Boston Children’s Hospital tackled this problem by developing an iPad app that helps families get acquainted with care team members. The app displays photographs and titles for each assigned staffer, alongside the patient’s treatment plan and lab results. In the pilot, users reported “better understanding and fewer instances of miscommunication.”

9. Text Updates

When a loved one is undergoing testing or surgery, waiting for status updates is a nerve-racking experience. Children’s National Medical Center set out to close the communication gap by deploying a HIPPA-compliant text messaging service . The patient’s family provides cell phone numbers in advance, and hospital staff use the service to send generic, prewritten messages like, “Patient is now in surgery.” Not only does it relieve stress, it helps people feel more comfortable about leaving the waiting room.

10. Tear Down Walls

Golden Valley Health Centers recognized that “physical barriers create emotional barriers.” So it knocked down the walls and glass that sequestered its front desk receptionists. The results were dramatic: Frequency of patients being welcome with eye contact, a smile, and a greeting increased from around 15 percent to 100 percent. Patient satisfaction scores shot up too.

11. Educate Patients

Waiting room education has also been linked to increased patient satisfaction. For example, in one ambulatory care clinic, patients who watched an educational video about glaucoma and chatted with a staff nurse while waiting for their doctor were happier than patients following a typical care routine.

12. Display Wait Times

Fuelfor, a Spanish design consultancy, recommends featuring wait-time displays prominently in multiple places, not just over the front desk. And, for people who don’t want to hang around the waiting area, create an app that keeps track of their position in the queue.

13. Clean Up

Cleanliness is another factor associated with higher patient satisfaction. In fact, attractive and cheerful waiting rooms reduce anxiety, create a better perception of the quality of care, and convince patients that they’ve waited a shorter amount of time.

14. Provide Free Wi-Fi and Charging Stations

Free Wi-Fi is everywhere. Why should your clinic be a dead zone? Help make your space work and homework friendly.

Find this useful or interesting? We’re constantly sharing stuff like this. Sign up to receive our newsletter to stay in the loop.

Related Resources

Innovation Spotlight: Waiting Room Concierge

Waiting rooms have long been major pain points in the patient experience, causing frustration and anxiety that saps efficiency and degrades health outcomes. Can the waiting room be reinvented? As part…

Innovation Spotlight: Standby Appointments

Are no-shows an efficiency annoyance or an opportunity to offer additional same-day appointments for acute care?

Innovation Spotlight: Next Level Gardens

Open Door Community Health Centers has been developing innovative ways to incorporate clinic gardens into their care practice and philosophy.

Text Alerts Reduce Wait Times to Build Patient Satisfaction

PPOSBC has cut wait times from over 90 minutes to an average of 20 minutes, with a dramatic rise in patient satisfaction scores.

Innovation Spotlight: Using Social Determinants Data

To thrive under the new payment models, health centers will need to start using social determinants data to target the right care at the right patients.

Infographic: Waiting-Room Concierge

This infographic gives you a tour through West County Health Center’s waiting room concierge pilot.

Flying and the Patient Experience

What we can learn from the similarities between flying and going to the doctor.

Cultivate Fund: Request for Proposals

The Cultivate Fund provides support for innovators to take risks on new approaches to improve access to care, patient engagement, or population health management.

Petaluma Health Center: Mammography Innovation Project

Petaluma Health Center is improving early breast cancer screenings in their county – which has one of the highest breast cancer rates in the state. Learn how health centers like this one are leading…

West County Health Centers: Telemedicine Innovations

Dr. Jason Cunningham, Medical Director of West County Health Centers, describes how his clinic is using telemedicine innovations to improve quality and access to care for patients in their community.

SLAP HAPPY LARRY

Writing activity: describe medical rooms and hospitals.

William Simpson - One of the wards of the hospital at Scutari 1856

Medical rooms and hospitals are safe, infantalising, dangerous, creepy, life-saving, traumatising places, and I offer them here as examples of what Foucault called ‘ heterotopia ‘.

The hospital’s ambiguous relationship to everyday social space has long been a central theme of hospital ethnography. Often, hospitals are presented either as isolated “islands’ defined by biomedical regulation of space (and time) or as continuations and reflections of everyday social space that are very much a part of the “mainland.’ This polarization of the debate overlooks hospitals’ paradoxical capacity to be simultaneously bounded and permeable , both sites of social control and spaces where alternative and transgressive social orders emerge and are contested. We suggest that Foucault’s concept of heterotopia usefully captures the complex relationships between order and disorder, stability and instability that define the hospital as a modernist institution of knowledge, governance, and improvement . Heterotopia Studies

Hospitals (like airports) elicit the full range of human emotion and are symbolically useful arenas for storytellers. Who better than writers to describe what it feels like to be inside a hospital?

I followed [the psychiatrist] down a depressing hallway into a tiny windowless office that might have housed an accountant. In fact it reminded me a bit of Myron Axel’s closet, filled with piles of paper waiting to be filed, week-old cups of coffee turned into science experiments, and a litter of broken umbrellas nesting beneath the desk. I must have looked as surprised as I felt when I entered her office, for Rowena Adler looked at the utilitarian clutter about her and said, “I’m sorry about this mess. I’m so used to it. I forget how it looks.” Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You by Peter Cameron

The author may have enjoyed writing that description because at James Sveck’s next appointment they are in a different room.

Dr Adler’s downtown office was a pleasanter place than her space at the Medical Center, but it wasn’t the sun-filled haven I had imagined. It was a rather small dark office in a suite of what I assumed were several small dark offices on the ground floor of an old apartment building on Tenth Street. In addition to her desk and chair there was a divan, another chair, a ficus tree, and some folkloric-looking weavings on the wall. And a bookcase of dreary books. I could tell they were all nonfiction because they all had titles divided by colons: Blah Blah Blah: The Blah Blah Blah of Blah Blah Blah . There was one window that probably faced an airshaft because the rattan shade was lowered in a way that suggested it was never raised. The walls were painted a pale yellow, in an obvious (but unsuccessful) attempt to “brighten up” the room.

The description of James’ psychiatrist’s rooms is broken up, judiciously, and fits around the action. James’ reaction to the rooms reflects how he feels about life at this juncture: He expected better. He expected different; instead he gets this underwhelming life.

I looked around her office. I know it sounds terrible, but I was discouraged by the ordinariness, the expectedness, of it. It was as if there was a catalog for therapists to order a complete office from: furniture, carpet, wall hangings, even the ficus tree seemed depressingly generic. Like one of those little paper pellets you put in water that puffs up and turns into a lotus blossom. This was like a puffed-up shrink’s office.

In a book of essays, Tim Kreider’s description of hospitals is one of the best I’ve encountered:

Hospitals are like the landscapes in recurring dreams: forgotten as though they’d never existed in the interims between visits, but instantly familiar once you return. As if they’ve been there all along, waiting for you while you’ve been away. The endlessly branching corridors sand circular nurses’ stations all look identical, like some infinite labyrinth in a Borges story. It takes a day or two to memorize the route from the lobby to your room. The innocuous landscape paintings that seem to have been specifically commissioned to leave no impression on the human brain are perversely seared into your long-term memory. You pass doorways through which you can occasionally see a bunch of Mylar balloons or a pair of pale, withered legs. Hospital beds are now just as science fiction predicted, with the patient’s vital signs digitally displayed overhead. Nurses no longer wear the white hose and red-cross caps of cartoons and pornography, but scrubs printed with patterns so relentlessly cheerful—hearts, teddy bears, suns and flowers and peace signs—they seem symptomatic of some Pollyannaish denial. The smell of hospitals is like small talk at a funeral—you know its function is to cover up something else. There’s a grim camaraderie in the hall and elevators. You don’t have to ask anybody how they’re doing. The fact that they’re there at all means the answer is: Could be better. I notice that no one who works in a hospital, whose responsibilities are matters of life and death, ever seems hurried or frantic, in contrast to all the freelance cartoonists and podcasters I know. Time moves differently in hospitals—both slower and faster. The minutes stand still, but the hours evaporate. The day is long and structureless, measured only by the taking of vital signs, the changing of IV bags, medication schedules, occasional tests, mealtimes, trips to the bathroom, walks in the corridor. Once a day an actual doctor appears for about four minutes, and what she says during this time can either leave you and your family in terrified confusion or so reassured and grateful that you want to write her a thank-you note she’ll have framed. You cadge six-ounce cans of ginger ale from the nurses’ station. You no longer need to look at the menu in the diner across the street. You substitute meat loaf for bacon with your eggs. Why not? Breakfast and lunch are diurnal conventions that no longer apply to you. Sometimes you run errands back home for a cell phone or extra clothes. Eventually you look at your watch and realize visiting hours are almost over, and feel relieved, and then guilty. Tim Kreider, “An Insult To The Brain”, We Learn Nothing

It’s a fact known throughout the universes that no matter how carefully the colours are chosen, institutional décor ends up either vomit green, unmentionable brown, nicotene yellow or surgical appliance pink. Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

They are now the only two people in the upstairs waiting room of the dental clinic. The seats are a pale mint-green colour. Marianne leafs through an issue of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and explores her mouth with the tip of her tongue. Connell looks at the magazine cover, a photograph of a monkey with huge eyes. from “At The Clinic” by Sally Rooney

Every time I see a hospital in a horror movie or whatever, sometimes even an actual prison, I compare it to the one I went to and it always comes out looking worse. They are not relaxing places. They can leave you worse than you came in. Especially because the world outside, doesn’t actually stop while you are there? You’re usually there due to a crisis. Something unexpected. Did you take vacation pay before you started? Probably not, hey? Provided that you get that sort of thing at all. If you’re on welfare, you’re still have to fight for an exemption. Good luck if you can’t do that because you’re literally insane. You’ll still need to pay the rent and all your bills somehow in the background too. Oh, you got kicked out? That’s a shame. Here’s a pamphlet to a homeless shelter. Have a lovely trip. My stay did turn out a lot better than that, but it’s literally only because I had someone constantly advocating for me on the outside. Most people in psych wards don’t get that. And that’s not even touching on how nobody will listen to you in there, but everybody will assume all sorts of things about you. You’ll be open to both sexual and physical assault. Both happened to me on a number of occasions. I was blamed for everything, of course. You don’t even get uninterrupted sleep, do you know that? Nurses come and shine a torch in your face every fucking hour for a wellness check, or whatever. Which feels pretty shitty if you’re going through a paranoid psychosis. Anyway. I’d really like to see more empathy and awareness of the reality of all these sorts of places. They are horrible. They haven’t changed a lot since they were called asylums. They still use solitary confinement too, did you know that? Awful things. Mx Maddison Stoff @TheDescenters Sep 8, 2022

The Architecture of Madness

Elaborately conceived, grandly constructed insane asylums—ranging in appearance from classical temples to Gothic castles—were once a common sight looming on the outskirts of American towns and cities. Many of these buildings were razed long ago, and those that remain stand as grim reminders of an often cruel system. For much of the nineteenth century, however, these asylums epitomized the widely held belief among doctors and social reformers that insanity was a curable disease and that environment—architecture in particular—was the most effective means of treatment. In The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States (U Minnesota Press, 2007), Carla Yanni tells a compelling story of therapeutic design, from America’s earliest purpose—built institutions for the insane to the asylum construction frenzy in the second half of the century. At the center of Yanni’s inquiry is Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, a Pennsylvania-born Quaker, who in the 1840s devised a novel way to house the mentally diseased that emphasized segregation by severity of illness, ease of treatment and surveillance, and ventilation. After the Civil War, American architects designed Kirkbride-plan hospitals across the country. Before the end of the century, interest in the Kirkbride plan had begun to decline. Many of the asylums had deteriorated into human warehouses, strengthening arguments against the monolithic structures advocated by Kirkbride. At the same time, the medical profession began embracing a more neurological approach to mental disease that considered architecture as largely irrelevant to its treatment. Generously illustrated, The Architecture of Madness is a fresh and original look at the American medical establishment’s century-long preoccupation with therapeutic architecture as a way to cure social ills. interview at New Books Network

The Architecture of Good Behavior: Psychology and Modern Institutional Design in Postwar America

Inspired by the rise of environmental psychology and increasing support for behavioral research after the Second World War, new initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels looked to influence the human psyche through form, or elicit desired behaviors with environmental incentives, implementing what Joy Knoblauch calls “psychological functionalism.” Recruited by federal construction and research programs for institutional reform and expansion—which included hospitals, mental health centers, prisons, and public housing—architects theorized new ways to control behavior and make it more functional by exercising soft power, or power through persuasion, with their designs. In the 1960s –1970s era of anti-institutional sentiment, they hoped to offer an enlightened, palatable, more humane solution to larger social problems related to health, mental health, justice, and security of the population by applying psychological expertise to institutional design. In turn, Knoblauch argues, architects gained new roles as researchers, organizers, and writers while theories of confinement, territory, and surveillance proliferated. The Architecture of Good Behavior: Psychology and Modern Institutional Design in Postwar America (University of Pittsburgh Press) explores psychological functionalism as a political tool and the architectural projects funded by a postwar nation in its efforts to govern, exert control over, and ultimately pacify its patients, prisoners, and residents. interview at New Books Network

Header painting: William Simpson – One of the wards of the hospital at Scutari 1856

CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)

On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.

Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:

1. Get a pet dog

2. Find a friend. Just one. Not too intense.

KINDLE EBOOK

5 ways to make healthcare waiting rooms more functional and comfortable

May 06, 2018

By Ena Kenny

Designers can incorporate simple elements to make a trip to the hospital better for patients and their families

Wearing a heavy winter coat, a mother leads her two little children into a crowded hospital emergency waiting room. She hopes for positive news of her father-in-law, who was brought to hospital earlier that day with chest pain.

The design that went into that waiting room can make a big difference on that family’s anxiety levels. Have the designers included positive distractions, outdoor views to provide orientation within the building, and family-friendly seating to accommodate the children? Are there hooks for the family’s coats? Is there an outlet for the mom to charge her phone? Is Wi-Fi easily accessible, so she can email family members with updates?

Design matters.

Patterned glass screens provide separation from this waiting area to the corridor.

Dated healthcare waiting room rooms can add unnecessary stress to an already stressful situation. Designers should do their best to provide comfortable spaces for patients and their family members. Here are five must-haves when designing—or updating—healthcare waiting rooms:

More choice: Designers should incorporate furnishings and layouts that offer choice and flexibility—as opposed to simply lining up seating along the perimeter of a waiting space. People should have options. A family of four may need an intimate configuration, such as facing one another with room for a stroller, rather than sitting side-by-side. Or perhaps someone plans to sit alone with a book and a coffee. Where can they put personal belongings? Does that coffee have to sit on the floor?
Physical separations: It’s also a good idea to provide physical separations, such as colored, textured, or patterned glass screens. These screens offer infection control in areas like emergency rooms, while still being aesthetically pleasing. In other places, like an intensive care unit waiting area, they can provide privacy for grieving or stressed families.

Visual variety : People sometimes complain about sterile hospital environments. It may seem wise to keep colors soft to be safe, but color is highly subjective—and it must be considered along with all materials and finishes in a palette, as well as light levels. Make waiting areas bright and visually interesting, while ensuring a balance of neutrals and accent colors, and appropriate levels of contrast. Sufficient light levels and good contrast make spaces less challenging for those with low vision.
Appropriate materials: In terms of materials, it’s important to create a warm and friendly space, but finishes must also be easily cleanable and long lasting. For example, rather than plastic laminates for counters, which can fade, crack, or peel over time, a non-porous solid-surface counter will seem brand new for much longer. We try to avoid using materials that pose a health risk in terms of their manufacture, their disposal, or their performance in the intended application. We have long shifted away from vinyl upholstery toward finishes like polyurethane textiles and other PVC-free materials. Waiting areas can be noisy, so designers should also consider materials that are sound-absorbing, such as rubber-sheet flooring and perforated wood look ceilings, which are decorative as well as highly functional.

Waiting areas that are found in the same location from floor to floor can be differentiated with color.

Using technology for positive distraction: In the future, you’ll likely find everyone in waiting spaces immersed in technology—even more than they are today. We’re anticipating more sophisticated means of positive distraction. We have recently installed interactive LED light surfaces in a kids’ waiting area, and we’ve seen fantastic therapeutic art installations in hospital waiting areas and corridors.

We all find ourselves in waiting rooms—whether in healthcare or other settings. Next time you do, note whether these must-haves have been addressed.

Ena creates supportive and patient-centered environments, placing an emphasis on design for mental health and senior-friendly design. Her imaginative work is grounded by her ability to draw out the needs and concerns of client user groups.

Related Ideas

Design quarterly issue 21 | adaptive reuse.

Publication

6 tips for designing allied health education facilities

Sense of community: culturally responsive design fits buildings to place and purpose.

Published Article

Geoexchange system installation: 6 steps that prioritize safety and efficiency

Why decarbonizing hospitals smartly is better than electrification for healthcare design, building decarbonization strategy: it starts before electrification, stantec’s top 10 ideas from 2023, does your building need a life cycle assessment, low-carbon building materials: designers discuss alternative options, design quarterly issue 20 | rethink, 5 questions to ask before you write a decarbonization rfp, embodied carbon: why it matters to the structural engineer—and how to reduce it, new ashrae standards tip the balance toward net zero buildings, how does the 2020 national building code impact seismic design in canada, conceptual design: how a new digital tool helps buildings engineers work better, the meaning of design, the future of design and ai in architecture, trauma-informed care: indigenous healthcare designed for empathy, wellness, and safety, elevating community mental health, a modular construction solution to the mental healthcare crisis, can emerging alternative delivery processes result in better hospital design, design quarterly issue 18 | the future of design, proton therapy design (part 2): tracing the patient journey.

Doctor's Office and Hospital Waiting Room Ideas

Waiting Room - two people sitting in a waiting room - Atmosphere TV

Nobody likes to wait. Whether it's at the doctor's office or in a hospital waiting room, waiting seems to be universally disliked. In fact, psychology research has shown that people generally overestimate how long they've been waiting, which can subconsciously create a negative perception of their experience with the business. What if there was a way to decrease a customer’s perceived waiting time, without actually shortening the wait? That's where Atmosphere comes in.

The Problem with Waiting Room Entertainment

While you may think that cable television is a sufficient source of waiting room entertainment, it's actually a big part of the problem. While we can all agree that there's definitely a time and place for Judge Judy, blasting it at 8:00 am in your doctor’s office waiting room can be irritating and stress inducing, especially to patients who may be feeling rushed or under the weather. Keeping your TV on mute may prevent your guests from becoming frustrated with the volume, but it won't keep them entertained. Without audio, your customers can't follow the storyline and will revert back to impatiently scrolling through their phones. Even if they've only been in your waiting area for a few minutes, once the customer thinks - "I've been waiting for so long," or "how much longer do I have" or "did they forget about me" - their perception of the time spent in your business becomes increasingly negative.

Waiting Room - two doctors talking in a medical room - Atmosphere TV

How Atmosphere Enhances the Hospital Waiting Room Experience

Simple - time flies when you're having fun. Our short-form, audio-optional content helps improve waiting rooms because, well, it's short-form and audio-optional .

No storyline required: You don't need context to become immersed in the content. Our compilation of viral videos, funny clips, sports and news are the perfect way to keep guests laughing and engaged rather than thinking about how long they've been waiting. Plus, our content is updated daily, so every guest gets a unique and entertaining experience regardless of when they come in for their appointment.

Audio-optional

Customers who want to distract themselves with TV can do so without annoying the other customers who don't. Putting cable television on mute may satisfy the people who were annoyed by the audio, but hinder the experience of the customers trying to follow along. Atmosphere keeps everyone happy.

Happy customers are better customers. We're not saying your waiting room will be a sunshine and rainbows, but it certainly won't be a place of boredom and resentment. Make sure your customers leave their appointment thinking about the great care they just received, not about how long they had to wait before they received it.

Replace cable with Atmosphere. Boost customer satisfaction in the waiting room and watch retention and referral soar. Sign up for Atmosphere today or call (512) 675-1080 to learn how you can get started!

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The Hospital… creative writing.

THE HOSPITAL…

“Aesha Macci?” The nurse called softly, as I entered the ward

“Yeah that’s me”, I replied as I walked through the corridor, which seemed to drag along. I walked up to the desk really slowly as it were a terrifying beast ready to devour me just as I reached it. My mum was right next to me and my sister was tagging along behind us. Since I had entered the hospital building I had been feeling very nervous and obviously scared. The ward was empty and all I could hear were footsteps across the squeaky floor. And the slight echoes of the nurses’ whispers.

“Welcome to ward 28” she said in a very polite tone.

“Thank you very much” I replied, nervously.

“Don’t worry we will look after you. We wont eat you”, I couldn’t help myself but to laugh a little. “That’s better, we like to see smiles on everybody’s face”, that defiantly made me feel better.

“Come on, I’ll show you to your bed” I followed behind her slowly while my mum filled in some details at the desk. We entered an empty bay with six beds, three on one side and another three on the opposite side. None of the beds were occupied. I was given the bed right next to the window, which I was glad about, because I could see Leicester city’s football ground (only the seats, unfortunately). The nurse mentioned that they wanted to give me a side room, but really sick babies took them all. The bay was quite colourful, with pictures around it. Above each bed was a picture of a painted arctic animal, as it was called ‘The Winter Bay’. As I looked up I saw above my bed a seal, it was painted a beautiful silvery-grey colour. The floor was the same as the corridor, grey and shiny. There was a big television standing there in the middle of the wall-between the two huge windows-opposite the bay opening. There was also a large table in the middle of the bay. Next to every bed were the usual chair and locker. It was not a very warm feeling in the bay as it was empty and very quiet.

I set my bag on the soft hospital bed. I sat on the chair, hoping that someone would come in soon, and that I wouldn’t be alone. “You alright?” asked the nurse as she popped her head through the opening.

“Yes thank”,

“Settled?”

“Kind of”,

“You can put you clothes in the locker. If that’s okay with you?”

This is a preview of the whole essay

“Yeah, okay, I’ll do that”. I emptied my bag out on the bed and started re-folding my clothes. I opened the cabinet and began to set the clothes in the cabinet just as the doctor walked in with her clipboard and pen. It was time for the questions. My sister came in before her and took a seat on the bed next to mine, because my mum had taken the seat on the chair next to the window and I was on the bed. The doctor made herself comfortable on the bed and got her pen ready.

“I’m just going to ask you a few questions and tell you why you are here. Alright lets begin.” I never really did think why I was going to hospital-I was too nervous.

The question had finished and now was the explanation. “Do you know why you’re in hospital?”

“Is it because I’m under weight?”

“Yes that’s the main point. It is because you are under weight, very under weight so we want to observe on what you eat and drink. And also how often you go to the loo. We also want to take a few tests to see why you are under weight and to see if there is anything wrong inside your body”. That was the reason why I was in hospital. I was a little bit more sacred now that she sake tests, she must have been a mind reader because she then said “don’t worry they are only a couple of blood tests”, I was so relived when she said that. Then finally she left, but as she was leaving another nurse came in, she was wearing a white plastic apron over he hospital uniform that was a sky blue polo t-shirt and navy blue tracksuit bottoms, she was very tall, and she put all her pens in her hair, which I found very new,

“Lunch is ready if you’re hungry?”

“Oh, I’m starving” I hadn’t eaten since eight in the morning, I could smell he food. It smelt fresh and lovely. I walked unto the trolley with my mum on one side and the nurse on the other, who’s name was Clair, I had a quick peek at her badge. My sister was behind again, she looked really bored. My mum chose my lunch for me from the variety, hospital food is not as bad as I sounds-well at least not the children’s wards. That’s when my mum left. Just as I was finishing my lunch, I was so happy to see another family walk in. The mother looked a bit upset, as her daughter looked very ill, she had spots all over her face, legs and arms. But she was adorable; she had curly blonde hair, with sparkling blue eyes, full of tears. She looked just like her de except her dads her was orangey-red. Whilst the nurse was settling them in she asked me if I was okay and that my doctor will be here in a while to do my blood test. Just as the nurse was speaking the doctor came in with a tube and what looked like a label. She came up to me and explained hat the cream would make my skin numb and the label (which was see-through) would keep the cream on my skin. I found this odd because I had never had my blood test like this.

I couldn’t do much with the cream on my hand, so I sat and watched television, which was really boring because there were only children programs on. So I decided to go outside and read a few magazines.

I was really beginning to get sick and tired of the constant screaming and crying of the babies. And I also realised I had forgotten to take my book, so now I was stuck with nothing to do. The play specialist did offer me a few puzzles but as my arm was sill numbed by the cream I was unable to do them.

Not until after I had, had my dinner did the doctor come back to take my blood test. I followed her nervously but not as nervous as the play specialist. We entered a room stacked with syringes and medicines, and the room smelt of really strong antiseptic. I was told to take a seat on ‘the big brown chair’, which was covered with a large sheet of what seemed a tissue. As I took my seat, the training play specialist took one beside me, and the doctor opposite me. As she peeled of the cling film looking label from my arm, she told me to keep still. I didn’t feel a thing when the needle went in or when it came out. I was surprise but glad.

The day had finally come to an end. I survived my first day in hospital. But was not looking forward to spending two weeks in hospital. Maybe more.

By: Aesha Macci 11R

Document Details

Word Count 1279
Page Count 3
Subject English

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Study highlights how one hospital waiting room feature positively impacts health of patients, visitors: ‘The brain becomes calmer and less stressed’

W hile many people have an affinity for wood furniture and interior spaces, few of us realize the extent to which wood can tangibly affect our mental health and wellbeing.

But according to a scientific study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, this effect is measurable and significant.

The study was undertaken in the wooden waiting room at the National Oncology Institute in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. Fifty volunteers were observed before and after their stays in the waiting room, with things such as heart rate, respiration activity, and blood pressure recorded.

According to the study’s authors, the effects of spending time in the wooden waiting room were overwhelmingly positive. “The usage of wooden materials verifies their regenerative and positive impact on the human nervous system, through the appealing aesthetics (color, texture, and structures), high contact comfort, pleasant smell, possibility to regulate air humidity, volatile organic compound emissions (VOC-emissions), and acoustic well-being in the space,” they wrote .

Though wood is a material that we often take for granted, the more wood we are able to use in our built environments, the better — not just for our mental health, but for the planet as well. When compared to other building materials such as steel or cement, wood has a drastically lower effect on the overheating of our planet.

In fact, architects are beginning to design and construct skyscrapers out of wood, and they are just as safe and structurally sound as their metal counterparts. “The only path forward to get us to carbon-neutral buildings is timber,” one architect said.

In Japan, the practice of “ forest bathing ,” or simply walking into a forest and spending time around trees, has been shown to reduce stress and boost peoples’ immune systems. The chemicals released by trees have been found to have medicinal properties that may even increase levels of anti-cancer proteins.

Taking all that into account, it is not surprising that the wooden waiting room improved patients’ well-being.

“The effect of wood on the nervous system showed that the brain becomes calmer and less stressed, probably because wood is natural and more familiar for humans,” the study said . “The first effect of the wood during the first few minutes was relaxing, while during longer stays in the wood environment, the brains of our volunteers became more active, less afraid and nervous, and their memory and ability to think increased.”

Study highlights how one hospital waiting room feature positively impacts health of patients, visitors: ‘The brain becomes calmer and less stressed’ first appeared on The Cool Down .

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Russian leaders often claim the United States reneged on a promise not to expand NATO after the Cold War. They aren't lying: Although Washington never put a pledge in writing, U.S. officials worked hard to convince Moscow that NATO wouldn't move east. And in international politics, informal commitments count.

Listening Length 12 minutes
Author Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson
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Audible release date December 8, 2014
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Setting Description: Emergency Waiting Room
After the symphony of coughing, hacking and wheezing that greeted Becky in the ER waiting room, she found the closest antibacterial hand dispenser and starting working it like a gambling addict hitting up a VLT machine. ... Still I hope it helps anyone writing hospital ER room scenes (like the awesomo Lisa and Laura!) Angela. Wendy Marcus says ...
How to Write a Hospital Scene in Your Novel
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How to Write a Hospital Scene
Let's say they have a disease, then maybe they are praying, holding the hand of their loved one tight, closing their eyes, rocking back and forth in their chair, etc. If they are waiting for someone then maybe they do the same things as mentioned above. Example 1: (Coming Soon). » B.
How to Write Hospital Scenes (21 Best Tips
Here are three complete examples of how to write hospital scenes in different genres. 1. Drama. The hallway of St. Mercy's was dimly lit, echoing with the soft murmurs of the night shift nurses. Elizabeth walked slowly, her heels clicking on the tiles, each step feeling like an eternity as she approached room 309.
creative writing
People often go for a walk around the area of the hospital, even without coats and in crappy weather. Most floors in a hospital have some kind of waiting room. To avoid stereotypes, NEVER have anyone speak to the doctor. And waiting is a bit of a cliché, yet that's what a lot of dying is about. A lot of death is slow, with time to reflect on life.
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Setting: HOSPITAL ROOM
A window with blinds. A bathroom containing a small sink, a shower, and a toilet. An adjustable hospital bed with a plastic cover and metal side rails that can be raised or lowered. White linens. Extra pillows. A television on the wall. An IV stand with saline bags. A heart monitor. A bedside table with drawers.
[Writing Prompt] Setting The Scene
Their doctor probably wants them to stay put for now. Their next-of-kin might have a whole other set of issues and the nurses probably just want to go somewhere quiet and put their feet up for a few minutes…) Make the setting integral to the story. Have events that could only happen in this high-tension setting.
WHERE I WRITE #15: The Hospital Room
The Rumpus publishes original fiction, poetry, literary humor writing, comics, essays, book reviews, and interviews with authors and artists of all kinds. Our mostly volunteer-run magazine strives to be a platform for risk-taking voices and writing that might not find a home elsewhere. We lift up new voices alongside those of more established writers our readers may already know and love.
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Study highlights how one hospital waiting room feature positively ...
Study highlights how one hospital waiting room feature positively impacts health of patients, visitors: 'The brain becomes calmer and less stressed' first appeared on The Cool Down.
Grad Program: MA in Creative Writing in Russian (Moscow)
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21 Things to Know Before You Go to Moscow
1: Off-kilter genius at Delicatessen: Brain pâté with kefir butter and young radishes served mezze-style, and the caviar and tartare pizza. Head for Food City. You might think that calling Food City (Фуд Сити), an agriculture depot on the outskirts of Moscow, a "city" would be some kind of hyperbole. It is not.

Setting Description: Emergency Waiting Room

Think beyond what a character sees, and provide a sensory feast for readers!

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How to Write a Hospital Scene

» A. Explain to your audience why the character(s) is in the hospital and whether or not it’s for them or a friend/family member.

» B. What do the doctors/ surgeons have to say? Anything good or all bad news? .

» C.Emotions Cannot Be Ignored! !

» A. Describe the room…

» A. Entering the hospital:

» A. Leaving the doctors room, how does your character act?

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How to Write Hospital Scenes (21 Best Tips + Examples)

1. Understand the Hospital Hierarchy

2. Capture the Hospital Ambiance

3. Use Medical Jargon Judiciously

4. Show the Emotional Toll

5. Research Common Procedures

6. Distinguish between Different Wards

7. Remember the Role of Technology

8. Understand the Patient Experience

9. Highlight Interpersonal Dynamics

10. Address Ethical Dilemmas

11. Don’t Forget the Waiting Rooms

12. Include Flashbacks or Memories

13. Use Senses Beyond Sight

14. Introduce Unexpected Humor

15. Respect Cultural and Religious Sensitivities

16. Show Fatigue and Stress among Healthcare Workers

17. Address the Financial Aspects

18. Highlight Moments of Triumph

19. Include External Influences

20. Detail Personal Keepsakes

21. Remember the Power of Touch

30 Words to Describe Hospital Scenes

30 Phrases to Write Hospital Scenes

3 Full Examples of Writing Hospital Scenes

2. Mystery/Thriller

3. Sci-fi/Fantasy

Final Thoughts: How to Write Hospital Scenes

August 20, 2013

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HOSPITAL ROOM

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[Writing Prompt] Setting The Scene

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Health care design for the waiting experience

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Waiting Rooms, Art, and Equity

hospital - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing

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14 Ideas to Transform Your Waiting Room

1. Create a Waiting Room Concierge

2. Offer Nutritious Snacks

3. Hang Artwork

4. Install Check-In Kiosks

5. Cluster Your Chairs

6. Add a Children’s Play Area

7. Distribute Pagers

8. Introduce Your Care Team

9. Text Updates