This is the first post in a new series inspired by a lecture hosted by Dr. Janet Marcantonio, executive professor at Texas A&M University Mays Business School. Dr. Marcantonio is an extremely pleasant and patient woman who is truly dedicated to the success of her students. She teaches a course on individual leadership development, which has been invaluable to me. In the beginning, I would dread my mandatory weekly reflections. However, upon completion of the program, I walked away with a greater understanding of my personal leadership style and strengths. Furthermore, I have a vast array of frameworks available to me for everything from project troubleshooting to establishment of team expectations.
My posts in the "Ownership Has Its Privileges" series will be focused on a subject as it applies to the medical field. For example, today I will begin with a general discussion about issues with engagement in medicine and end by offering some advice on how healthcare professionals can take ownership of their engagement based on my experiences so far.
Why should I care?
Have you ever read a page, only to have forgotten what you read once finishing it? What about having a conversation with someone only to be reminded that they already told you something in a previous encounter? It happens to us all. Physicians are only human and no less susceptible to passive disengagement. Failure to remember details, confusing similar patients, and multitasking while in the patient exam room are all things that happen daily to any medical professional at some level. Unfortunately, there is a cost associated with disengagement that often goes unnoticed. These small things add up and lead to concrete failures in patient care. On the other hand, active engagement is not as easy as it seems. It requires due diligence to stay present in the moment when you are being pulled a million different ways by legitimate responsibilities.
Action items for healthcare professionals:
My posts in the "Ownership Has Its Privileges" series will be focused on a subject as it applies to the medical field. For example, today I will begin with a general discussion about issues with engagement in medicine and end by offering some advice on how healthcare professionals can take ownership of their engagement based on my experiences so far.
Why should I care?
Have you ever read a page, only to have forgotten what you read once finishing it? What about having a conversation with someone only to be reminded that they already told you something in a previous encounter? It happens to us all. Physicians are only human and no less susceptible to passive disengagement. Failure to remember details, confusing similar patients, and multitasking while in the patient exam room are all things that happen daily to any medical professional at some level. Unfortunately, there is a cost associated with disengagement that often goes unnoticed. These small things add up and lead to concrete failures in patient care. On the other hand, active engagement is not as easy as it seems. It requires due diligence to stay present in the moment when you are being pulled a million different ways by legitimate responsibilities.
Action items for healthcare professionals:
- Put your phone away and on silent. Yes, I know that phones are used to communicate urgent matters. Yes, I know that we can easily access medical databases online using them. But think about how much we hate when our patients are on their phones. They are less likely to answer our questions and give us the whole story. Similarly, we are less likely to ask the right questions and accurately gauge the patient condition when distracted by our bright little screens. Additionally, patients are consumers of the healthcare system. They pay hefty copays, take time off from work, and endure multiple other burdens to see a physician. It is our responsibility to give them our undivided attention in order to provide them with a high value service. Understandably, there are exceptions. Professionals involved in emergent care will always have to remain available to some extent, but in general, the best way to stay 100% in the moment is to rid ourselves of unnecessary distractions.
- Review the medical record before the patient encounter. Not understanding a patient's history before entering the room is both an inefficient way to allocate time and detrimental to the experience. I remember walking in once and having to ask the patient how old they were. I've had it happen numerous times to me as a patient, but didn't realize how easy it was to make the same mistake as a provider. An embarrassing mistake that only a third year medical student would make on their first day, but a lifelong lesson learned. Patients appreciate when you put in the energy ahead of time. They don't want to keep explaining their chronic diseases at acute visits, just like they don't want to watch you spend five minutes staring at their chart. As a healthcare professional, I don't want to do those things either. I'd rather spend those same five minutes preparing myself outside of the room, then walk in with a better understanding of the patient and the ability to remain present while in the exam room.
- Practice active listening. This one's the toughest, because it takes a lot of practice to cultivate effective listening habits. We often listen only to respond; specifically, healthcare professionals are more likely to listen just to get through their routine history questions so they know they haven't forgotten anything. Active listening involves fostering a communication feedback loop between everyone involved. Don't just run through the motions. Analyze nonverbal cues, respond to specific comments made, make eye contact, summarize and clarify when appropriate, and ask patients to explain what they understood at the end of the appointment. One of my good friends best describes active listening as treating each conversation as a story. When we were a little kids, we loved hearing stories at bedtime, didn't we? We could visualize exactly what was happening, relate to the emotions felt, and immerse ourselves in any narrative. Why did that change as we grew up?