THIS MONTH’S issue is on communication. Even in articles in which the main theme is not communication, you’ll find a wealth of tips to help you communicate more effectively.
TAKE THE TEST
Admittedly, most people will read about this far and then say they already know how to communicate and that they are excellent communicators. Well, maybe so, but I want you to take a little “test” for me. On the next patient encounter I want you to:
• Pull out your phone, find the record feature (for audio only) or turn on the video camera.
• Tell the patient that your office is working on enhancing communication with patients, and get his or her permission to record the interaction. (I have done this thousands of times in my career and can only remember one person ever saying “No.”)
• Then, go on with your explanation of whatever they have. I am sure that most of you reading this have explained disease states, such as floaters, cataracts, presbyopia, astigmatism or glaucoma, lots of times in your career, so you should be good at your explanation.
• When you are done, shut the recorder, and thank the patient for letting you have the opportunity to improve your practice.
LOOK, LISTEN AND FEEL
Later today, go back and listen or watch what you said and how you said it. Granted, we all sound a little different than we think we do when we hear ourselves talk, but I really want you to look, listen and feel the content. Did you say what you thought you were saying? Did the patient ask questions to clarify something that her or she did not understand? Have you heard those same questions before? If so, was there a really good reason that you didn’t change your “script” to incorporate the answer to the question before you have to repeat it again?
TOO BUSY TO DO THINGS RIGHT?
I continue to be amazed by the people I encounter who say they are too busy to complete this exercise. Yet, communication may be one of the biggest time wasters they use during a day. Think of it this way: If you spend one minute for every patient a day “re-explaining” something you didn’t explain clearly the first time, then you are wasting time.
Granted, that is only a minute per patient. But let’s put that minute in context: 1 minute x 20 patients a day x 5 days a week x 50 weeks a year = 5,000 minutes per year. Spanning a 20-year career, that is 100,000 minutes, or 1,667 hours, or 9.9 weeks of your life re-explaining something that you didn’t want to spend five minutes fixing so that you would say it right in the first place.
So, next time you are educating a patient and you hear those same old questions, remind yourself of a quote from the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who said, “If you don’t have time to do it right now, when will you have time to do it over?” OM.