A doctor can only work with what they know. Most of what happens on the night trip never reaches the exam room unless someone writes it down. This guide walks through the visit in three stages, from the log you keep before it to the plan you write after it.
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Stage one: keep a night log before the visit
For the weeks before the appointment, write one line for each trip she makes at night. Note the time, the stop she was at when something happened, what she was doing, whether she seemed dizzy or unsteady, whether she called out, and whether she fell. Note the light, the floor, and whether she had her glasses on. If her drinking changes around supper, note that too, since it shows up on the trip.
Write what you saw, not what you think caused it. Whether a symptom means something is the physician's call, and your job is to hand over an accurate record.
Stage two: bring the facts to the visit
Bring the log, a complete list of every medicine she takes with the dose and how often, the labels or the pharmacy printout, and the list of questions you wrote down. Bring the name of the person who is in the house most nights, because that person sees the trip most often. Ask that person to be at the visit or on the phone if you can.
Ask the physician whether anything in the log changes the plan, what to watch for between visits, what to report and to whom, and whether a referral is needed. Clinical answers come from her physician, not from this guide.
Stage three: write the plan down afterward
Within the same day, write what was decided on one page. For each item, write what changes, when it starts, who carries it out, and who checks it. A change with no named owner usually does not happen. If a medicine is changed, confirm with the pharmacist how it will be filled, and keep the family in charge of the medicine itself.
For how this desk handles clinical questions and sources, see How we write this desk.