In Japan, most of the waiting areas at the medical facilities have newspapers, weekly journals about health, the economy and gossip magazines.
At our clinic, we have books and magazines that the clinic director and I have collected for female patients.
They are written in Japanese or English and cover topics such as recipes, handicrafts, pets, nature, travel and culture, etc.
We have nice photography books as well.
Several of the patients mentioned that they want to come to the clinic to enjoy those books without having a medical consultation.
Especially before their first appointment, most of the patients are nervous.
The purpose of our clinic library is to make patients forget that they are in a medical facility for a while and to help them enjoy their waiting time through reading, so they can relax as much as possible.
When people are nervous, their muscles stiffens and it causes more pain during exams, such as mammography.
Actually, searching for books for the clinic waiting area is time consuming, but it is one of the fun jobs to do on the weekend.
Chieko
Clinic Manage