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Recently I had an operation that required a brief hospital stay. I am a rare bird who loves hospitals and hospital food. I don't even mind the nurses waking me up at 3 a.m. to ask me if I would like a sleeping pill. Go figure. But I would like to address physician bedside manner.
Don't get me wrong. I have had great experiences with physicians who for the most part pass Bedside Manner 101. Some, however, do need improvement.
My recent surgeon is amazing. He is well known for his expertise and medical skill. He does, in my opinion, need to show more patience and concern when visiting a patient. Some patients don't care whether the doctor is a good communicator, compassionate and has caring traits. For those patients, bedside manners take a backseat to clinical abilities. I need the warm and fuzzy.
I realize that doctors have many patients who must be visited daily and don't have the luxury of spending the afternoon chatting, but it is concerning to me when a doctor has one foot in my room and the other foot in the hall trying to escape before my questions are answered. It also concerns me when he leaves it up to a nurse to look at my incision and tell him what it looks like. After all, I helped purchase that $3,000 suit he is wearing, so he could at least check the incision himself.
The University of Kansas Hospital performed a study that documented a physician during 120 patient visits. Half of these visits were conducted while he was sitting. During the other visits, the physician remained standing for the duration of the appointment. The results were surprising: When the physician was seated, patients perceived him as spending more time with them. In reality, the opposite was true. His standing visits were an average of one minutes and 28 seconds, while the seated visits barely lasted over a minute. On average, patients guessed that the standing meetings lasted around three minutes and 44 seconds, and that the seated visits lasted over five minutes.
Taking the time to sit down with someone demonstrates respect and reduces the likelihood of appearing rushed. Doing so allows the patient to feel valued and appreciated.
Similarly, a 2013 Vanguard Communications survey found that online complaints about matters such as doctors being dismissive of concerns, late for appointments, hurried or not listening well were almost four times more common than criticisms about medical abilities.
It has been two weeks out of the hospital now, and today I was having a wild tantrum complaining to my husband about not recovering fast enough. He just looked at me and said "Get over it." So much for bedside manner. I think I would rather have the doctor with one foot in the hall.
Judi Hendrickson of Wheeling is the co-author with Dr. Jeanne Finstein of "Walking Pleasant Valley." She teaches etiquette and presents programs on Tea Time Traditions, the History and Etiquette of Tea and Wedding Traditions.