It doesn’t matter what your position is within the healthcare space. At some point or another, you’re going to have to deal with difficult patients. Unfortunately, that’s only one of the negative aspects of the medical field. You don’t just have to deal with your feelings, you have to also deal with your patient’s feelings as well.

There could be thousands of different reasons why a patient in your care is being difficult. Let’s look at it from their perspective. They could be ridden with anxiety, frustrated with the care they’re receiving, angry with their diagnosis, defensive over their lifestyle, fearful about their family’s reaction, the list goes on and on.

But finding out why they’re acting out isn’t the most important aspect of these encounters. It’s how you deal with them during this engagement that’s most important.

LINKS:
____________________________________________

https://etactics.com/blog/howtodeal...
____________________________________________

The most important thing to do when dealing with difficult patients is to be empathetic. If you work within healthcare as a doctor, nurse, or specialist...that’s your career. Every day you’re working patients through their illnesses and after a while, you might get desensitized to the news you deliver. In fact, some medical professionals say that getting desensitized is inevitable. This makes staying empathetic challenging but its something you must continue to do, especially with difficult patients. It’s one of the most human forms of consoling and it can really help you in these situations.

The next thing to do with a difficult patient is to listen. You can’t be emphatic without listening to them. But listening also allows your client to let off steam. Venting is a coping method and it order for it to happen correctly someone needs to be listening. It will also let the difficult patient know that you care about what they have to say and are willing to collaborate with them.

Third, you need to control your body language. Your body language reveals underlying emotions, motives, and feelings in an instant and it can be hard to keep control of your body language when a patient is being difficult or venting their frustrations. Especially if they’re directed toward something you did. It’s human nature to get defensive but you simply can’t allow it in this instance. The best way to stay aware of your body language is by keeping a cool head. You need to maintain your composure as a medical professional. Pay attention to what you’re doing with your facial expressions. As your difficult patient vents or talks about their frustrations maintain eye contact with them. But don’t glare, that could come off as threatening.

Next up, you might be in a situation where you need to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Have you ever been in a social situation where there’s underlying tension? It’s uncomfortable, right? These situations may happen when working with difficult patients. When they do, the best thing to do is to acknowledge the situation. But you can’t be blunt about it. Instead, use acknowledgment phrases that are less threatening to hear. Say things like, “I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot.” or “Do you have any suggestions on how we can solve this problem?” Try these out and you’ll notice the situation get less threatening instantly.

The fifth way to deal with difficult patients is to set clear boundaries. Patients come to doctor’s offices or hospitals need attention. There’s no denying that. But sometimes certain patients ask for more attention than you have time for. Giving in to these requests is a slippery slope. If you give in for one needy patient, you’ll have to for all of them. To avoid this from happening, set yourself time limit boundaries. Set a limit to what works best for you, maybe 15 to 30 minutes and adjust it as necessary. But over time you’ll find that your days are less stressful and you’ll be move productive.

► If you’d like to learn more about how doctors are affected by depression, reach out to Etactics @ https://www.etactics.com

►Subscribe: https://rb.gy/pso1fq to learn more tips and tricks in healthcare, health IT, and cybersecurity.

►Find us on LinkedIn:   / etacticsinc  

►Find us on Facebook:   / etacticsinc  

#DifficultPatients #Patients

   • How to Improve Your Waiting Room *For...