George Tkalych - Tips For Maintaining Good Bedside Manner
George Tkalych is a thirty-two-year veteran in the medical field who offered his services as an ear, nose and throat surgeon to thousands of patients during the course of his career. One of the most significant things that he learned was the importance of providing comprehensive care to patients from the moment they walk into a medical facility. Your bedside manner is going to prove just as important as your technical expertise in many cases, so it is crucial that you focus on improving in this area so you can build patient trust and provide better care. This is an area where many new doctors and surgeons struggle, so follow this advice to start improving.
If patients feel as though your attention is elsewhere when they are speaking to you they are less likely to provide you with the information you need to provide care. Even simple actions, like looking out of the window when a patient is talking or checking another patient’s chart during the conversation, can give the impression that you are not interested in what is being said. Furthermore, if you are distracted you may end up missing something important that could have been used in treatment.
You need to understand that the majority of the people you treat will not have the medical training that you have. This means they will often not understand what you are talking about if you use complex medical terminology. With this in mind you need to work on how you deliver information to patients so it is understandable and leaves no room for confusion. Try to relate the information you deliver to real-life scenarios and ask your patients questions to determine how well they are absorbing it.
Your patients are often going to be scared, even if they are trying hard not to show it. Preparing for a surgical procedure or confronting an ailment for the first time is intimidating and you need to understand that patients will often need reassurance and empathy from their doctors to help them get through it. Show compassion and recognize that patients often have needs beyond the medical care that you provide to them.
As a medical professional it is your job to maintain confidentiality at all times. What your patient tells you should not be shared with anybody, else you risk breaking the bond of trust that exists between doctor and patient. If you need to speak about personal issues with your patients, take steps to make the conversation as private as possible. Close curtains in open wards and keep your tone low to avoid others overhearing what is being said. You have a duty to your patients to listen to what they say without judging them and to keep the information confidential.