Doctors and Patients Both Need to Listen

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Human interactions can create funnyhappenings and tragic results. It is small wonder with all thedifferent types of personalities we encounter on a daily basis thatmost interactions are constructive and positive. Doctors andpatients also fit in this category, especially when they are in aroom with each other. Add to the equation that the patient is illand the doctor has no idea the cause. This may lead to severalpossibilities.
If you think very story has two sides,you would be correct. Only sometimes there can be many factorsleading to several sides and this is when both sides can become veryconfused, frustrated, anxious, and angry. This blog should reallymake you think and appreciate a little from both sides. Back on May18, 2010 I wrote this blog and I am still surprised how much isapplicable today. Then on July 16, 2010, I wrote this blog about myappreciation of what Dr. Rob Lamberts wrote in his blog.
Again I need to show my appreciationfor a blog written by Dr. Lamberts on January 29, 2012. Yes, it hastaken me awhile to write about this; however, I have had this on thelist of to do blogs since he posted it. Plus sometimes things do notfall into place as neatly as we want. I get started and thensomething interrupts and says write about me first.
Dr. Lamberts lists ten things he usesin the process when he approaches a patient with a problem they wantsolved. I will let you follow the link in the paragraph above andread the list and his explanation to keep this from becoming alengthy blog. He follows the first list with seven tips of advicefor patients. I sincerely wish more doctors would have the samedoctor-patient philosophy.
His list is more constructive and easyfor a patient to understand. If more doctors could even come closeto following this list, we would not need to be so proactive in ourcare and at times a pain in our doctor's backside. When a doctortunes me out or goes on auto-pilot with me, I do have a way ofbringing the doctor back to my world. I will not say how I do thisas I have to vary the method with other doctors. As it happened withone doctor, he actually stopped and said thank you for bringing himout of auto-pilot. We did discuss this and how easy it was torecognize when he started on auto-pilot. It seems he has some wordsthat when a patient uses them, he tends to go there, but did notrealize how recognizable they were to patients.
It is great to see other doctorsblogging about listening to patients and that the see the need to letothers know how important this is to patients. Please read this blogby Dr, Peter Pronovost. His blog is aboutpatient safety and how doctors and hospital staff can sometimes dothe simplest of things right when needed. Then at other times, cancause harm because they ignored a piece of key information becausethey do not listen.
The third blog is by Dr. Peter Eliasabout his experience of not listening to a patient and the lesson helearned. I admit I admire him for his forthright admission and howhe handled it with grace after being shown the error of his ways.
For doctors to be blogging aboutlistening to patients is encouraging for patients to read. Hopefully, more doctors will heed their advice. I admit I likedoctors that talk with me and explain what they would like to seehappen. This gives me the opportunity to ask more informed questionsand make sure I understand what is expected and what myresponsibilities are to make it happen.
I admit I am old enough to be crotchetyand bold when a doctor talks at me. I normally go into a bad moodand start badgering the doctor to be more specific and throwquestions to wake the doctor up to the fact that I am a person thatdoes not appreciate being talked at or about. Only one time have Ihad to stop a doctor and tell him that I was leaving to find anotherdoctor because I did not appreciate the fact that he would notdiscuss things that I was asking questions about and was talking atme instead of with me. He stopped long enough to say the pharmacistcould explain the medication. To this I said it would be too late asI had an allergy to an ingredient in the medicine and was trying totell him that the medication was wrong for me. I flipped theprescription slip on his desk and said he would be directed where tosend my medical records.
About three days later, I did receivean apology letter admitting he had not looked at my allergy list when heprescribed the medication. I did respond saying I had saved him alawsuit by rejecting the prescription because I felt he mightremember the lesson more by being told how wrong he had been. Handing things over to his liability insurer would not have taughthim anything. In the years since, we greet each other and talkoccasionally. He does remember and asks me if I have had any moreproblems like him since. So far, I have been able to say no problemslike him.