EDUCATING THE PATIENT

Discussing conditional situations

Patients will ask about possible outcomes. You can tell them what always happens or you can predict possible different scenarios.

Conditional 0 – What ALWAYS happens

If one event always leads to another, we use:

if  + noun + present tense, …noun + present tense

• If you have a stroke, you lose control of part of your body.
• If you have hypertension, you have a higher risk of stroke.

OR switch the two parts:

• You have a higher risk of stroke if you have hypertension.

We also use “When” for these ‘always’ situations:

• WHEN you have hypertension, you have a higher risk of stroke.
• You lose control of part of your body WHEN you have a stroke.

Conditional 1 – PREDICT different possible scenarios

You can tell patients what will happen in a specific situation with:

if + noun + present tense, …noun + will + infinitive

• If you get early and regular physiotherapy, it will improve your recover.
• You won’t recover as effectively if you don’t do your exercises daily.

Conditional 0 situations with other modal verbs

You can also tell patients about what else is possible or likely to happen.

• If you have problems with transportation, we can arrange home visits.
• If your care is consistent, you could get back to normal activity in time.
• Your loss of function may remain if you aren’t consistent with therapy.