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

Doctors already are actors, whether they want to be ones or not

Suneel Dhand, MD
Physician
October 13, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

The era of the empowered patient and patient-centered health care has been upon us for some time. Only a generation ago, there was a much more paternalistic approach to medicine. This has changed for the better across the western world. As somebody who teaches and coaches physicians on how to improve their communication skills, I would say that the newer generation of doctors is much more receptive than many of their older counterparts, in learning new skills in this area (which is a pleasure for me to say, because they are ironically also the generation who has come through a system where they have to spend an unacceptable amount of their day attached to a screen). As with any service-oriented arena, how you communicate often trumps competency, in how people perceive you. I’m not saying this is right, just that it’s the way things are. While being a doctor certainly isn’t a popularity contest, being able to establish rapport and being a good communicator, is a core component of being effective at what we do.

If you’ve been around for any length of time, you’ve probably heard a patient or two say something along the lines of: “I didn’t like that doctor,” based on only one interaction. Here are three reasons why that may have happened:

1. The doctor was visibly in a hurry. This is a big no-no. Every doctor is probably in a hurry, because that’s the nature of health care. We work in a suboptimal system with multiple demands placed on us. But that’s not the patient’s fault. There are certain verbal and non-verbal cues that give this away like a red light. Part of being a professional is having your “game face” on at all times. For physicians, that means not showing very obviously you are hurried, and carrying a calm demeanor.

2. Brush things off. When patients come to a doctor with something on their mind, it’s never trivial. For the doctor, who may want to focus on something else, there are subtle ways to redirect the conversation. But never in a way that appears to minimalize a concern or belittle a legitimate worry. Happens all too often, I’m afraid.

3. Not caring. This is the absolute worst thing any doctor can ever come across as. Yet I hear patients complain all the time that their doctor came across like that (albeit a small minority of cases). No matter how long our days, hectic our to-do list, or difficult our patients— the onus is on the physician to display a caring and compassionate attitude. Certain techniques that help with this include active listening, eye contact, and using open-ended questions.

Occasionally when I teach my courses, I get pushback from physicians along the familiar lines of: “Oh, does this mean I just give my narcotic seeking patient what they want?” or “We have such difficult and frustrating patients!”. Another classic is: “Hospitals are not hotels!” Fair enough, but nobody is saying that hospitals should be like hotels. Those difficult interactions are also a minority of patients in most places. They should not be used as an excuse not to improve our communication skills, or to not have a level of self-awareness of one’s own flaws. While no amount of teaching in the world can turn somebody who is a poor communicator, into an amazing one—each one of us can always go up a few rungs on the ladder, if we are motivated to do so.

Patients deserve the best performance from us during that brief allocated time slot we are given. Another statement I sometimes hear from doctors is: “Sorry, but I am not an actor.” Sorry, but you are already an actor! Every professional is. By using this word, we are not talking about being inauthentic or fake. On the contrary, anyone who is in a professional job or position of responsibility knows they have to put their “professional face” on—and deliver their best. Are you the same person you are at work that you are at home? Do you talk the same way to your patients as you do your family and friends? Do you take on a different persona when you don that white coat and step onto your stage? We know what the answer is. That’s why we always want to master the art of appearing calm, listening to all concerns, and showing that we care—with every patient we see.

Suneel Dhand is an internal medicine physician, author, and co-founder, DocsDox. He can be reached at his self-titled site, Suneel Dhand, and on YouTube.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

How physicians can be activists [PODCAST]

October 12, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

Despite struggles with my own mental health, I’d never exchange them for an ordinary existence.

October 13, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How physicians can be activists [PODCAST]
Next Post >
Despite struggles with my own mental health, I’d never exchange them for an ordinary existence.

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Suneel Dhand, MD

  • The dream patient that makes a doctor very happy

    Suneel Dhand, MD
  • When the family wants to speak to the doctor

    Suneel Dhand, MD
  • 3 reasons why patients are unhappy

    Suneel Dhand, MD

Related Posts

  • Who says doctors don’t care?

    Cindy Thompson
  • Doctors and patients should be wary of health care mega-mergers

    Linda Girgis, MD
  • Direct primary care: Great for some doctors, but challenging for patients

    Ken Terry
  • End-of-life care talks begin at home: even for doctors

    Abdel Albakri
  • Yet another injury to our doctors and our health care system

    Peggy A. Rothbaum, PhD
  • Doctors and patients continue to search through the overgrown forest of corporate health care

    Michele Luckenbaugh

More in Physician

  • Why the heart of medicine is more than science

    Ryan Nadelson, MD
  • How Ukrainian doctors kept diabetes care alive during the war

    Dr. Daryna Bahriy
  • How women physicians can go from burnout to thriving

    Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH
  • Why more doctors are choosing direct care over traditional health care

    Grace Torres-Hodges, DPM, MBA
  • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

    Neil Baum, MD
  • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

    Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • 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
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the heart of medicine is more than science

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • How Ukrainian doctors kept diabetes care alive during the war

      Dr. Daryna Bahriy | Physician
    • Why Grok 4 could be the next leap for HIPAA-compliant clinical AI

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How women physicians can go from burnout to thriving

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What a childhood stroke taught me about the future of neurosurgery and the promise of vagus nerve stimulation

      William J. Bannon IV | Conditions
    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [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

Leave a Comment

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

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • 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
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the heart of medicine is more than science

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • How Ukrainian doctors kept diabetes care alive during the war

      Dr. Daryna Bahriy | Physician
    • Why Grok 4 could be the next leap for HIPAA-compliant clinical AI

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How women physicians can go from burnout to thriving

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What a childhood stroke taught me about the future of neurosurgery and the promise of vagus nerve stimulation

      William J. Bannon IV | Conditions
    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [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

Leave a Comment

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

Loading Comments...