Sometimes patients tell me things that are out of the realm of possibility. Crazy stories, some of them. Not symptoms that are odd, but events that defy human physiology. She got half-way through her bowel prep and became paralyzed on the left side for one hour. Some would suggest that I'm not listening to their complaint. To the contrary. The less experienced ... Continue Reading about Crazy Stories and the Patients Who Tell Them
Big Shot Doctors – Patients Don’t Talk About Your Title
So many doctors are desperate to claim a title. Some want to be big shot doctors. I know a pediatrician who owns his own practice. Every 18 months or so a medical student follows him around for an afternoon. He bills himself a clinical assistant professor at the local medical school. This label is at the root of his professional identity. Everybody wants to be a ... Continue Reading about Big Shot Doctors – Patients Don’t Talk About Your Title
The Exam Room Entrance
It used to be that the paper chart was found on the exam room door. Before I entered I’d flip to my last visit, review my impression, check the plan and then enter. Then records went electronic. Now there’s nothing on the door. This has lead to an interesting evolution in my process. Now after a moment of reflection, I just walk in. But that’s not a ... Continue Reading about The Exam Room Entrance
The Exam Room Door
Of the things I face each day perhaps the most remarkable is the exam room door. It’s the gateway to what I do. As a conduit to the patient, it punctuates the beginning and end of the patient encounter. The ultimate moment of clinical focus There’s a process that happens during the moments before I enter. There’s something of a ritual or process that plays out in my ... Continue Reading about The Exam Room Door
Leaning In to Patient Experience
I have a friend who works at a small hospital in the Midwest. In the pursuit of improved patient experience, the administration studied what made patients happy during clinical encounters. One of strategies they discovered was the concept of forward-leaning posture. Evidence supports the idea that leaning in is associated with concern and attentiveness. So the ... Continue Reading about Leaning In to Patient Experience
Physicians as Mediators
Physicians were once the sole mediators of what patients understood about their health. When we wanted to know something, we went to the doctor. And what we understood was limited to what the doctor knew. There was nothing between us and an answer. Not so much anymore. As doctors we've evolved as mediators of the things that help us with answers. Instead of ... Continue Reading about Physicians as Mediators