You Are Covering for a Colleague Who Is Sick Today

You are covering for a colleague who is sick today and you have to see a patient of hers who, based on what your colleague has told you, is very difficult. You are anxious about seeing her because you are expecting the treatment interaction to be unpleasant. Which of the following techniques should you use to help avoid a "difficult" encounter with the patient?

A) Ask the nurse to go into the room first and see whether the patient is in a good mood.
B) Use active listening techniques to identify the patient's underlying needs.
C) Ask the physical therapy technician to do bed exercises with her today.
D) Have everything planned ahead of time so that she has no opportunity to complain.