Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The secrets to a fulfilling medical practice are often paradoxical

Robin Youngson, MD
Physician
June 14, 2012
Share
Tweet
Share

“Great interview, darling, but there’s one question you didn’t quite answer.”

My wife is my best coach. She thought the question about a busy orthopedic surgeon not having time to relate to his patients deserved a better response.

My interviewer, a psychiatrist, said he once accompanied a surgeon friend on his Saturday morning round of post-op cases. On the drive home, he challenged his friend with the observation that many of the patients were anxious and frightened.

“You just ignored their concerns in the hurry to get the round finished,” he said.

“Yes,” admitted the surgeon, “I know I’m not meeting all their needs but if I stopped to talk to them all, I wouldn’t have any time left for my family. What do you expect me to do?”

The interview was about compassionate caring. My first response to this question was the scientific evidence relating anxiety and stress to surgical outcomes. A skin incision takes twice as long to heal in stressed subjects. Moreover, stressed and fearful subjects are three times as likely to succumb to infection.

“So it’s likely your surgeon colleague is creating extra work for himself when he ignores the emotional wellbeing of his patients,” I said.

I then talked about the importance of investing a little time up front with each patient, to build trust and rapport. The doctors who are skilled at making this human connection save a lot of time. Plus it’s a more satisfying way to practice.

In my interview, I forgot about the research using video-taped interviews of doctor-patient consultations. Patients give us lots of cues about unanswered concerns. The doctors skilled at noticing and responding to patient cues had on average shorter consultations than those who brushed them aside. Responding effectively to patient concerns saves time.

By this time, I started to get off-topic in the interview. I didn’t get back to the reality of this orthopedic surgeon’s practice. Here are two better answers.

Dr. Stephen Beeson, a family doctor in California, is one of the happiest doctors I know. His patients love him too – his patient satisfaction ratings are in the top 1% for the USA.

Beeson has an unusual practice: he gives his personal mobile phone number to every one of his patients.

“Feel free to call me,” he says.

ADVERTISEMENT

Insane! Doesn’t he have a family life? When I tell my colleagues to give their personal phone number to patients, they think I am mad. Patients would never let them alone.

Actually, Beeson’s phone hardly ever rings. And when it does, it’s usually something really important. For his patients, just knowing he’s there, and that he cares, is enough.

Beeson is an outstanding physician leader. Many of the clues to his happiness are found in his book, Practicing Excellence – A Physician’s Manual to Exceptional Healthcare.

The secrets to happy and fulfilling medical practice are often paradoxical.

The more barriers built between doctor and the patient, the more they will demand of you. It’s as if you’re not really connecting, so patients remain unsatisfied.

My experience is that when you take down your barriers and defenses, patients made fewer demands on you, not more. And they’ll do a better job of helping themselves.

One final observation. Most orthopedic surgeons have massive incomes, compared to the national average. What would happen if my interviewer’s friend reduced his caseload and his income?

He could take every Friday off and not have to do a Saturday round. He’d spend more time with his family and would probably be a better, and happier doctor. He might even have time to talk to his patients.

Robin Youngson is an anesthesiologist who blogs at HeartTalk.

Prev

Burdening families with CPR decisions in the face of futility is cruel

June 13, 2012 Kevin 19
…
Next

Primary care physicians are negatively portrayed in the media

June 14, 2012 Kevin 18
…

Tagged as: Primary Care, Surgery

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Burdening families with CPR decisions in the face of futility is cruel
Next Post >
Primary care physicians are negatively portrayed in the media

ADVERTISEMENT

More in Physician

  • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

    Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD
  • How to balance clinical duties with building a startup

    Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA
  • When life makes you depend on Depends

    Francisco M. Torres, MD
  • Implementing value-based telehealth pain management and substance misuse therapy service

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • How an insider advocate can save a loved one

    Chrissie Ott, MD
  • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

    Ryan McCarthy, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

      Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD | Physician
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Federal shakeup of vaccine policy and the battle for public trust [PODCAST]

      American College of Physicians & The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Federal shakeup of vaccine policy and the battle for public trust [PODCAST]

      American College of Physicians & The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why clinicians must lead health care tech innovation

      Kimberly Smith, RN | Tech
    • The truth about sun exposure: What dermatologists want you to know

      Shafat Hassan, MD, PhD, MPH | Conditions
    • Learning medicine in the age of AI: Why future doctors need digital fluency

      Kelly D. França | Education
    • How a South Asian nurse challenged stereotypes in health care

      Viksit Bali, RN | Conditions
    • Doctors reclaiming their humanity in a broken system [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 4 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

      Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD | Physician
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Federal shakeup of vaccine policy and the battle for public trust [PODCAST]

      American College of Physicians & The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Federal shakeup of vaccine policy and the battle for public trust [PODCAST]

      American College of Physicians & The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why clinicians must lead health care tech innovation

      Kimberly Smith, RN | Tech
    • The truth about sun exposure: What dermatologists want you to know

      Shafat Hassan, MD, PhD, MPH | Conditions
    • Learning medicine in the age of AI: Why future doctors need digital fluency

      Kelly D. França | Education
    • How a South Asian nurse challenged stereotypes in health care

      Viksit Bali, RN | Conditions
    • Doctors reclaiming their humanity in a broken system [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The secrets to a fulfilling medical practice are often paradoxical
4 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...