What I Wish My Doctors Would Have Known When I Was A Patient and Caregiver – Part 4
This is part 4 of a 5-part series. To read the other posts follow the links at the bottom.
Focus On Us — Leave Your Other Patients and Personal Issues Outside the Room
Life is stressful for all of us. It can be hard to put aside what’s bothering you. Or you may have some unresolved feelings from your last patient.
One day one of Mike’s doctors was called out of the room three times because he was working to get a patient admitted. He would come into the room, and it was obvious he was flustered. I would guess that he started the process and had to have calls returned. And I understand he may have needed to take them when they came in. It was very frustrating to have him in and out so much. It felt disrespectful of our time. This may have been one of those times when I needed to release my feelings and accept that if he had been doing this for Mike it would have been alright – so this was alright as well.
I have also seen a lot of doctors take notes on their computers. At KU Med Center these are the notes that were printed out for us when we left so they needed to be completed. Explain what you’re doing to the patients, so they understand. So, they don’t see it as being distracted.
We had one doctor that dictated his notes before we left the room and asked if we had any questions. I thought this was brilliant. We may not have understood everything he was dictating but it gave us time to form those questions.
Patients and caregivers need to be aware of this as well. We need to leave our distractions outside the room or put them aside when the doctor comes in. Before one of Mike’s visits, he had asked me to order some electrical parts that he needed. I got out my computer and placed the order. If the doctor would have come in the middle of that, would I have put my computer away and focused on him – probably?
Cell phones are another distraction we all have. It’s easy enough to turn ours off. It might be tougher for doctors. Sometimes they have pressure from the practice to use them for patient care. This can be distracting for both the doctor and the patient during a clinic visit. It interrupts the connection. It makes the patient feel like the doctor is not focused on them. My feelings are that doctors are being asked to do too much. To multitask when our brains can only switch from one task to another.
I’ve had doctors ask me when my cell phone rang if I needed to take it. No, right now this is the most important thing I’m doing. Let your phone go to voice mail.
Can you think of a time when it felt like a doctor was distracted during your visit? How about a time when you were? Share your thoughts in the comments below or connect with me here.
Whether you’re the doctor or the patient stay Focused.
Make a Connection in the comments below.
Onward!
