One Response to “Opinion: Connecting with Patients Can Help You Become a Better Doctor”

1. 

   March 5, 2017

   Gregory Bowerman Reply

   Dr. Hsiao,
   Your nurse’s put down was not unintentional, but the information that followed was, of course, very valuable to you and her. We made a conscious effort to call patients by their names about 20 years ago, until HIPAA and now we’re back to the handy way we used before and you were using now. If you just say “the patient in room 6”, their identity may have changed once or twice since you last saw them. Metrics are presently a god to administration, making it more difficult to get to know your patients. It’s great to be reminded of it’s importance often. But if you feel bad after an encounter with a nurse, that’s because s/he was hoping you would feel that way. Address him or her by their name, thank them for the information they conveyed, confirm that you knew and were concerned or didn’t and are glad they brought it up. Remind them in this way that you too are human, as are they. Good luck