Why is it that patients feel the need to justify their visits to urgent care through their “chief complaint?” For reference, a chief complaint is the reason you are seeking care. It could be as simple as “fever” or “ear pain.” And yet, the majority of patients feel the need to add in extra adjectives, as if to subtly say “i’m here for a legitimate reason”.

It’s always BAD headache. Or it’s TERRIBLE ear pain. Or NONSTOP coughing.

Are there physicians out there that would tell a patient who simply said “headache” that they should go home, but if it’s “bad headache,” then suddenly the concern is valid?

To be the honest, it seems to be that the more dramatic the concern is, the less serious the illness turns out to be. What’s the deal with that?