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

How often did doctors treat you with courtesy and respect? 

Joshua M. Rosenberg, DO
Physician
April 29, 2019
Share
Tweet
Share

During this hospital stay, how often did doctors treat you with courtesy and respect?   Seriously?  Why is this question even necessary?  Obviously, because it doesn’t always happen.  Well, that’s interesting.  Maybe interesting isn’t the word.  Maybe the word is, “shocking.”  I can’t fathom treating any patient with anything less than courtesy and respect.   I just don’t get it.

I’m not accusing anyone of being rude to patients.

Remember, HCAHPS are not necessarily about actions.  They’re about perceptions.  So how could our interactions with patients leave them with the perception that we’re less than courteous and respectful?  That’s the question to ask.

I submit to you that there are things we’re doing that are perceived by patients as less than courteous and less than respectful.  I suggest you take inventory and make an effort to do the following with every patient every time.

  1. Knock on their door and give them the opportunity to say, “Come in…” or something else.  Wait 2-seconds and if there’s no answer, you can go in.
  2. Know the patients name before you enter the room.
  3. Make eye contact, smile, and shake hands with the patient and their visitors.
  4. Sit any time you can.
  5. Know relevant data before you walk in the room.
  6. Chit chat for a moment about something other than their illness.
  7. Offer the patient time to ask questions and make comments.
  8. Thank the patient and their family for trusting you with their life or the life of their loved one.

I know you’re busy and often tired.  However, I suggest that the busier or more tired you feel; the more intentional about these things you need to be.  That’s when it’s easier for all of us to forget to do them.

Many probably roll their eyes at the idea of being courteous and respectful toward patients that are rude and nasty to them.  To this I quote one of my residency attendings, Dr. Brad Graves.  Dr. Graves had a saying for dealing with people that are less than polite to you.  He used to say, “Kill them with kindness.”  It must have meant something as I remember him saying it almost 15 years later.   Always try to put yourself in your patient’s shoes.  Are you having a worse day than they are?  They’re likely in pain and scared.  It’s very difficult to be courteous and respectful when you’re hurting and terrified.  I’m not saying their behavior is acceptable but it still doesn’t give us the right to be anything less than courteous and respectful to every patient every time.

Dr. Graves taught me a lot in residency.  However, this may just have been the most important.

Joshua M. Rosenberg is vice-president of clinical operations, Apogee Physicians.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Seeing the effects of the opioid crisis play out live

April 29, 2019 Kevin 0
…
Next

Our work goes beyond the hospital

April 29, 2019 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Practice Management

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Seeing the effects of the opioid crisis play out live
Next Post >
Our work goes beyond the hospital

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • The way we treat young doctors is barbaric

    David Penner
  • Don’t be mean: Treat your team members with respect

    Aaron Lacy
  • What’s the best way to treat doctors and nurses with drug addiction?

    Emma Yasinski
  • Physician Suicide Awareness Day: Where are the patients? 

    Jennifer M. Sweeney
  • Lawmakers don’t care for our patients. Doctors do.

    Joanna Bisgrove, MD
  • Can the Maternal CARE Act fail moms? 

    Sonal Patel, MD

More in Physician

  • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

    Clayton Foster, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Decoding your medical bill: What those charges really mean

      Cheryl Spang | Finance
    • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

      Andrea Caamano, MD | Conditions
    • A mind to guide the machine: Why physicians must help shape artificial intelligence in medicine

      Shanice Spence-Miller, MD | Tech
    • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

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

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Decoding your medical bill: What those charges really mean

      Cheryl Spang | Finance
    • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

      Andrea Caamano, MD | Conditions
    • A mind to guide the machine: Why physicians must help shape artificial intelligence in medicine

      Shanice Spence-Miller, MD | Tech
    • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

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

How often did doctors treat you with courtesy and respect? 
4 comments

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

Loading Comments...