Clearly you’re not ok becsuse you’re seeing a doctor, but aren’t you supposed to be polite to the nurse? But then again the nurse is doing your intake assessment.
“I’m about to find out!”
Be honest about what’s wrong, that’s why you’re there. But in a polite way. “Well, my day started off well but then I broke my arm so I’m worse now.”
Breaking your arm, as is tradition on a fine normal day
It’s their job to know how you are truly doing and what you’re there to be treated for, no decent nurse would be offended if you got right to the point. “Hi, I’ve been having lower abdominal pain for a couple days, if it weren’t for that, I’d be doing good.” If the straight forward approach seems weird, you can follow it up with other pleasantries. Source: I’m a nurse.
I update them on my condition. Given the context, they’re likely asking whether anything is going on with me that I believe they ought to know about.
We ask open ended questions just to assess your general response. If we want other information, we’ll ask more focused questions. There isn’t a right answer and we get paid by the hour so you’re not wasting our time.
'Can’t be that good if I’m here."
Or, “better now that you’re here”
Can’t you just tell the nurse if you don’t feel okay? How is that not being polite?
Depends on where you are. In some countries, saying that tends to be be just chatter/fluff, and the person asking does not expect an earnest answer.
But that said, if they’re seeing a doctor, it might be better to just be honest, instead of faffing about. At worst, they’re understandably slightly rude, and at best, they can make the nurse’s job easier.
I do my socializing in the hallway on the way to the examination room for the appointment. We get down to why I’m there once I’m in the examination room.
They’re partly gauging your delivery and seeing where your mental state is at. So, being coherent if possible is probably ideal. Beyond that it’s a matter of taste I imagine.
Or if you’re feeling incoherent, go for it, I guess?
“I’ve been better” simple and to the point.
“Well I’m at a hospital so you can imagine things aren’t going quite as well as I want.”
As you can see
The same way I answer everyone else:
“Fine, relatively.”
“Eh, pretty well except for the bloodsucking squid-fungus hybrid hanging off my navel.”
(Or whatever the problem is.)
“Oh I’m doing ok, how are you?