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Category Archives: effective communication in healthcare
Which me is needed here?
As a physician, I’m often asked by family and friends to advise them, or at least to explain what might be happening with their health or in their interactions with medical professionals. It usually feels good to use my experience … Continue reading
Being Persona Non Grata
Last week, I was a patient. I was brought to an exam room and interviewed by a friendly nurse with a great bedside manner. She introduced herself, showed her human side, and then left me alone in the room, with … Continue reading
The Elephant in the Room – How to make friends with the monitor in your exam room
At a recent doctor’s appointment, I was ushered into the exam room by an assistant. She never introduced herself and spent our entire time together with her back to me, facing a computer screen. As you can imagine, the interaction … Continue reading
Let’s Talk about Failure
Ugh…even the possibility of failing makes most of us cringe. We are supposed to be smart, fearless, skillful at EVERYTHING we do and many things we don’t do, visionary…the list goes on and on, doesn’t it? In other words, we … Continue reading
What’s in a smile?
At a recent conference, I spoke about communication in the healthcare setting and suggested that the major premise of Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, has a lot to tell us about how we interact with our patients. Gladwell provides data showing … Continue reading
Naming the fear – a simple way to reach our patients
Last week I saw a patient who was concerned that his post-treatment course wasn’t what he had anticipated. The pain he had originally was gone, but now he had a new pain that was interfering with his sleep. As I … Continue reading
Do-overs in the same barn
In, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell explains that we often make decisions in the blink of an eye. In fact, Gladwell shows us, we frequently form an opinion of people we meet within the first few seconds. This makes it important for … Continue reading
Lessons from a 5th grade history teacher
Yesterday I missed an opportunity to partner with my patient and engage her in the decision making for her treatment. I did what our kids’ 5th grade teacher warned them never to do – I assumed. I assumed that I … Continue reading
What if we just don’t know?
Medicine is an inexact science. We diagnose two patients with the same disorder, treat them with the same therapy, and one recovers while the other one doesn’t. I’m sure we have all had that experience. Hard core “knowledge” that we … Continue reading
The Power and Perfection of No
I’m writing this post from Japan, a beautiful and cultured country. Excited about encountering such a different culture, I’ve read several guidebooks that describe the sights as well as the people of Japan. For centuries, the Japanese were not allowed … Continue reading
Doctors Coaching Doctors - Helane Fronek, MD Coaching and Consulting 