The Importance of Bedside Manner
Most medical situations typically involve an atypical amount of stress and vulnerability for the patient and their loved ones so while it may seem routine or typical for the doctor, bedside manner becomes an essential part of the profession. As research and studies show the positive implications of great bedside manner and care, it’s more important than ever to evaluate how it impacts our health and ultimately a doctor’s professional success. A positive physician experience is, after all, a win-win for both sides.
Patients and their families don’t have the same background as a medical professional.
While an anesthesiologist may run the same systematic processes day in and day out, for a new patient, this could be entirely new. All they know is that they are going to be intentionally unconscious. Someone is going to knock them out. Sounds scary right? It’s important for doctors to understand that fear. Rationalizing it is one thing; helping them understand what will happen and why there’s nothing to be afraid of, but it’s also important to acknowledge their fear too because it is scary and this is a big decision. Every surgery, no matter how small, is a big deal and therefore it’s important not to belittle it or their fears. Don’t give that fear too much power, but acknowledge it.
Along the same lines, you need to consider your audience. Bedside manner and medical etiquette in general, embody a variety of communication approaches. Where directness might be an essential part of effectively doing your job when communicating with assisting specialist that added explanation and empathy is an essential part of communicating with your patient. As Darice Britt says, “Healthcare involves many personal interactions with a variety of people. Etiquette in healthcare is more than just good manners; it is about establishing respectable relationships with patients, colleagues, and supervisors.”
It’s a skill set.
While empathy is a big part of bedside manner, it’s also important to remember that bedside manner combines a fairly vast skill set. Caring is a learned behavior. As Elizabeth Renter describes in her article for U.S. News, “Dr. Helen Riess, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and lead researcher on the 2014 analysis of doctor empathy and health outcomes, says physicians don’t have the support they need to sustain the good patient communication skills they learn in medical school once they begin practicing medicine.” Based on that research, medical practitioners need to continue their efforts to hone these interpersonal skills.
Poor bedside manner can cost you.
No one wants to feel uncomfortable or devalued by their physician in an already uncomfortable position. If a patient feels discomforted enough for a long enough period of time, they often won’t continue under the same care obviously. In other words, poor communication skills and empathy can become an expensive habit for some specialists. As explained by Market Street Research, “In the studies we conduct for hospitals across the nation, we hear a lot of stories about bad bedside manner. Some people even seem to think it’s the price they pay for a certain level of medical expertise. More often, though, specialists and the hospitals they operate at pay the price for poor bedside manner, when patients leave them for better treatment elsewhere.”
Originally published at swissmedica.net on June 18, 2018.
