Connecting with Doctors
Communicating with physicians on a professional level is easier said than done. Putting your new knowledge to practice with physicians whose knowledge depth seems endless can be both challenging and intimidating. Unfortunately no single technique will work to gain respect from all doctors since each doctor’s personality and boiling points are different and unique. If a nurse wants to form a connection with the doctors, he or she must put aside personal feelings, remain assertive, collegial, and professional.
With careful word choices and using ones best tact to communicate, chances to develop a mutually respectful relationship with the physicians increase. No worries, all nurses eventually will experience relief from the fear of communicating with doctors.
Answer the questions to the best of your ability describing in what ways have your learned to develop a relationship with physicians and be the best communicator you know how to be.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
1. How have you gained the respect of a physician?
2. What would make a doctor not trust you?
The Intimidators
3. Why you think some doctors intimidate nurses? Explain your thoughts.
4. What’s your approach to speaking with a doctor who you feel is unapproachable or intimidating?
The Angered Physician
5. Whether an overlooked order or a procedure not completed within acceptable time limits, physicians can get angry. Is there any way to diffuse their anger before it escalates too far?
6. Is there a “good” or “bad” way to tell a physician about a mistake? Describe.
7. When a doctor is mad and you find yourself at the center of his/her insults, what’s your plan of action?
8. What can you describe as a major “don’t” when dealing with an angered physician?
Just the Facts Ma’am
9. How do you best approach a physician to discuss patient care problems?
10. Physicians want the fast facts. How do you stay brief and refrain from telling the physician the whole report from beginning to end?
Difficult Discussions
11. There will always be a time when you have to approach a doctor with a controversial issue and suggest different treatment or plan of care. Describe your most recent or prevalent one and how did the situation get resolved.
12. Is there a wrong way to approach a physician concerning a controversial issue? Explain.
13. Think of a situation when a physician did not change his/her mind and in the end everything did not turn out well, what did you say to the physician?
Think Before Dialing
14. What’s your advice about ensuring a successful conversation with the physicians over the phone after you paged him?
15. How do you know who to call when a patient has nine different doctors on their case?
16. If you had to give one piece of advice to a new nurse regarding calling a physicians, what would you say?
Residing Residents
Residing Residents
17. When dealing with residents, what should a new nurse keep in mind?
18. Describe a situation where the resident made things less easy?
19. Describe a situation where the resident made things easier?
I think the best thing you can do when a physician is yelling or swearing at you, whether for a mistake or for calling in the middle of the night, is to stand up for yourself. We all have to learn that just because we may have made a mistake is no justification for an MD to be disrespectful. We are all in the same buisness of taking care of people, but we have to remember we are people too. Also, as a patient advocate you can not be afraid to call the MD, even if it's in the middle of the night. If a physician starts to swear or yell at you just calmly state that you do not appreciate being spoken to like that and that you are just doing what you are required to do. Physician's are human too and sometimes don't realize they are taking their frustrations out on the nurses, but most back down when you stand up for yourself.
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1112515799 | Sep 30, 2009 at 17:48