Dr. Bob rants about how we interact with patients and how we interact with each other. He says that we need to model professionalsm, and I would concur.
How we act at the bedside is an entirely different discussion which we may have another time.
Now seems like a good time, eh?
Last summer, I made note of Carl Gandola's weblog. Like Dr Bob, Carl is an attending physician in a residency program. Carl describes sitting down at the bedside and listening to his patients. While the quote on Dr Bob's post today may be accurate ("some doctors put on a better show than others") … listening can't be faked. We say much more with our actions than with our words:
We know that physicians interrupt their patients:
Patients spoke, uninterrupted, an average of 12 seconds after the resident entered the room. One fourth of the time, residents interrupted patients before they finished speaking. Residents averaged interrupting patients twice during a visit. The time with patients averaged 11 minutes, with the patient speaking for about 4 minutes. Computer use during the office visit accounted for more interruptions than beepers.
I find that I sometimes bite my tongue (literally!) to remind myself to keep quiet. I've posted on this in the past as well .. so follow the link and take a look if you like … it's a real-life example of how listening just a little can save a lot more time and money than you think.
