Like others who work in the medical profession, you may sometimes lose sight of the fact that your patients are scared and stressed. It’s not uncommon for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others who work in healthcare to forget that their patients are in foreign environments. While you may go to the hospital, laboratory, or doctor’s office on a near-daily basis, your patients typically only visit these places when they’re ill or injured.

Your attitude, behavior, and overall demeanor can have a great impact on your patients’ feelings. Because they’re likely worried and not feeling well, it’s safe to assume that your patients would appreciate a few kind words and a show of compassion. If your bedside manner is lacking, you may want to follow some of the advice outlined below.

Listen to Your Patients

How do you greet your patients? If you spout out a quick, “How are you?” but don’t give pause to hear a patient’s response, then he or she has likely perceived that you have little to no genuine interest in how they’re doing. If necessary, spend just a few extra minutes with your patients and truly listen when they’re providing answers to your questions. Be sure to watch your nonverbal cues, too. Do you rapidly shake your head when your patients are speaking, as if to say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, get on with it”? Or do you look them in the eye and give them the opportunity to answer your questions in full? When your patients are speaking, do you fidget with your phone or do other things that give the impression that you only half care about what they’re saying? Stop for just a minute and think about how your behaviors could be interpreted. Is that how you’d want a member of the medical community to treat one of your loved ones?

Ditch the Medical Speak

There’s no doubt that healthcare professionals have their own unique vocabulary. Between all of your acronyms, fancy Latin words, and technical terms, your patients may very well think you’re speaking a language from another planet. Is it really necessary to tell your patient you’re checking “BP” to make sure he or she doesn’t have “hypotension?” Why not just tell your patients that you’re going to check if their blood pressure is too low? Rather than ask if they’re suffering from “occipital cephalgia,” why not just ask if they have a headache? While speaking and interpreting medical terminology may have become second nature to you, it’s not likely something with which your patients are familiar.

Give Your Patients the Time They Deserve

You can be sure of one thing: Nothing is more aggravating to patients than waiting for what seems like hours only to spend a grand total of five minutes with a physician. It’s understandable that doctors’ offices sometimes run behind schedule. It’s also understandable that you may get held up with a patient whose illness or injury requires a little extra detective work. But, it’s not understandable when you rush patients through their appointments so you can make up for lost time. If you see an individual who has a clear-cut diagnosis and you can quickly advise him or her of any necessary treatments, then that’s fantastic. But if that same patient has a question about the medication you’ve prescribed or is experiencing other symptoms that they’d like you to examine, then he or she deserves your attention to those matters, too. Before dismissing your patients and moving on to the next chart in the stack, ask them if they have any questions or if there’s anything else they’d like to discuss – and give them ample time to respond.

Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to healthcare.

Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to healthcare. http://www.lsiphysicianrelations.com/

Author Bio: Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to healthcare.

Category: Etiquette
Keywords: healthcare professionals