Five ways to recognize patient cues, understand needs

When physicians show true empathy while listening to their patients in the exam room, patients and their families are often more satisfied and more open to adopting their advice —and it builds a much stronger patient-physician relationship. Though it seems simple, empathetic listening requires understanding how to recognize the cues that patients offer. Practicing empathy can save time and help physicians navigate difficult situations that arise in practice. It can also forge deeper connections with patients that lead to greater professional satisfaction and joy in work for physicians.Listening with empathy, recognizing cues Highly charged situations may arise in practice and those are the ideal times to use empathetic listening. A newmodule from the AMA ’sSTEPS Forward ™ collection of practice improvement strategies can help you become a better listener and get to the heart of your patients ’ needs. Once you have decided that connecting with empathy is the best way to approach the patient, follow these steps to improve that skill:Honor the first “golden moments.” The first few minutes of a clinical encounter are precious. There are many tasks that need to be completed during the visit —questions to ask, problems to analyze and solve—and you may feel pressured to dive right in. But if you leap into these tasks without listening first, you may miss key information. Set aside charts, computers, phones, alarms and pagers that may be distractions so that you ca...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news