Something is not right
Something has been wrong for three weeks. It is not disabling, but it has not gone away.
What do you do?
Step 1: What Would You Do?
There is often more than one good answer. Pick one and see what happens.
In the appointment
You have been given a treatment and you did not understand the explanation. The appointment is nearly over.
What do you do?
Step 2: What That Was
The name for what you just worked out.
Register with a doctor as soon as you move. Doing it while unwell, in a new place, is much harder than doing it on a normal Tuesday.
How to describe it
When it started, what makes it better or worse, whether it is getting worse, and what you are most worried about. That last one matters and people leave it out.
Where to go
Pharmacy for minor things and advice. GP for anything ongoing. Urgent care for things that cannot wait but are not emergencies. Emergency for serious injury, chest pain, difficulty breathing, or somebody unresponsive.
You are allowed to ask
What is this for, what happens if I do nothing, are there other options. Those are ordinary questions and appointments go better when you ask them.
Step 3: Try It
These ones do have right answers.
Where Would You Go?
Match each situation to the right place.
Different problems, different doors.
Tap a card on the left to start.
Step 4: Quick Check
Two questions, then you are done.
Question 1 of 1
What is the most useful thing to add when describing a symptom?
Step 5: Your Life Mission
Something to do away from the screen. Nobody is checking.
Book one yourself
- Find out how to register with a doctor where you will be living.
- Book one appointment yourself — any routine one.
- Write your questions down beforehand.
Why: The first one is the hard one. Doing it while nothing is wrong makes it ordinary.
Step 6: What You Learned
- Register with a doctor when you arrive, not when you are ill.
- Say when it started, what changes it, and what you are worried about.
- Pharmacy, GP, urgent care, emergency — different doors for different things.
For the grown-up
Handing over the booking is the transition that matters. Let them make appointments for themselves, with you present at first, well before they leave home.
Many young adults have never spoken to a doctor without a parent in the room, and the first time is much harder if it coincides with being ill and alone.
The point about naming what you are worried about is genuinely useful for adults too, and it changes how consultations go.