How To Deal With Difficult Patients – 10 Tips for Dealing With Difficult Patients and Family Members Knowing and managing difficult patients and family members is an integral part of the work of a healthcare professional. Here are 10 tips to help you deal with a difficult situation easily.
As a healthcare professional, meeting and dealing with difficult patients and family members is an integral part of the job.
How To Deal With Difficult Patients
When a person makes things difficult, it often reflects their dissatisfaction with the service being provided. Whether their response is legitimate or not, it is our responsibility as healthcare professionals to address their concerns and to disperse the situation diplomatically.
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Here are 10 tips to help you deal with difficult situations with difficult patients or family members easily:
To fully empathize with a person, we must first understand what they are going through. The troubled person may complain of 101 seemingly trivial problems, but it is your responsibility to find out why they are acting.
For example, a family member of a patient may have difficulty complaining about food portions, room temperature, and other trivial issues, but his actions may actually be due to fear and uncertainty about the lack of information about a loved one’s condition.
Try to understand their point of view. Since health problems are a big problem in their minds, people are understandably not in the best mood. The fear, worry, discomfort and helplessness they experience can manifest themselves as aggression and agitation, causing them to focus on even the slightest inconvenience. However, it should be remembered that in most of these cases it is not a personal attack, but a response to their concerns.
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When someone attacks you, it’s best not to react in nature. Improperly responding to the situation can worsen and escalate the situation. If you find yourself reacting or reacting negatively to a situation, take a step back, take a deep breath to stay calm and avoid being defensive.
Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them. Most often, their emotions come from the situation before your meeting. Instead, separating your emotions and showing them concern can help to distract the situation.
Create a safe space for your patient and family members to share their history and concerns. Show interest in what they have to say and give them enough time and space to fully express their fears and concerns. If they become emotional, console them and let them discharge their emotional baggage without judging them.
When they are able to freely express their psychological and emotional needs, they can feel calmer and less anxious, which will allow you to connect with them better.
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Active listening is a skill that all healthcare professionals should have in their repertoire. Not only does it allow us to better deal with difficult patients, it can be useful in all types of communication, from comforting family members and building relationships with patients, to communicating effectively with teammates, which is crucial in medicine.
Here are some tips and tricks that can make even the most difficult of patients feel heard and understood so they can calm down and communicate with you more effectively:
Eye contact is an important form of communication, especially in face-to-face interactions. However, too much eye contact can seem intimidating, so you’ll need to adjust accordingly. You can make eye contact for a few seconds and then look away. Avoid looking down as it can make you appear avoidant and want to end the conversation.
Assess your tone of voice, choice of words and body posture. Non-verbal cues can tell a lot about how they are feeling and possibly the reason for their actions.
Difficult Patient Encounters
Interrupting can feel like you’re cutting them off rudely and you don’t want to spend time listening to them and solving their problems. If there is a few seconds of pause or silence, you don’t need to jump right away to fill the space. Allow them to take the time to collect your thoughts and emotions before speaking, and you also take the time to absorb and understand them.
You can start by saying something like, “I can understand why you are frustrated” to make them feel that you are both on the same side, on the same side, and working together to solve the problem.
Repeating to them from time to time what they shared with you is an effective way of showing that you are paying attention and understanding their point of view. It also gives them the opportunity to clarify any points that you may have misunderstood, which allows them to communicate more effectively.
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If you find that you or your family members are worried, don’t avoid them. The situation is unlikely to resolve itself, so it’s best to cut it off before it becomes a bigger problem. Take the first step and contact them. They will appreciate your attention and proactivity in approaching them to listen to them and address their concerns.
While it may be subtle, body language can help soothe the patient and show their thoughts and intentions. If the patient is agitated and you are frustrated, it can be difficult to move forward if you allow your negative emotions to show as well.
Take a deep breath to calm down and re-focus your energy on solving the problem. Make a conscious effort to pay attention to body language. You can slow down your speech and even sit down to show them that you are willing to take the time to listen to their concerns and find a solution together.
Adopt an open posture which means you should avoid crossing your arms or legs which can make you appear defensive. Leaning forward or slightly tilting your head can also help to show that you are listening carefully to what they are saying.
Tips To Manage Difficult Patients And Family Members
Remember that the first step is always recognizing your reaction to a situation and then controlling your thoughts, words, tone and body language to communicate your message and emotions effectively.
Once you figure out why they are difficult, find a solution to their problem. Inform them of the next course of action to resolve this issue, and tell them to keep you updated with their feedback to ensure the issue is properly addressed and resolved.
If possible, consult with the patient to be aware of your commitment to addressing their problem. This can help them feel confident that you are on the same team as them, so if other problems arise in the future, they may be more likely to resolve them amicably than to make matters more difficult for you.
A comprehensive healthcare team is needed for comprehensive patient care. While it is commendable that you are motivated to do whatever you can to help the patient, remember that as an individual, there is only so much you can do.
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Consider referring them to a social worker or someone else they can talk to where they can better cope with their emotions and other difficulties than with you. Be sure to approach this topic with grace and tact so that it doesn’t look like you’ve abandoned it.
While we try to be understanding and accommodating in most situations, there must be limits. When someone starts yelling at you profanity out of your whole lungs, it can be a verbal insult. Stay calm, but let them know that this behavior is unacceptable and that you deserve the same respect you show.
Leave the room to give them time and space to calm down before continuing the conversation. If necessary, take your partner with you the next time you try to talk to him.
As a hospital nurse, you can easily desensitize after working for a while as you look after hundreds of patients every day. Conditions like dementia or medications that can cause agitation, confusion, or drowsiness will require special attention, but with a busy schedule you may feel unable to give each patient the full attention and personalize the care you provide.
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In the program, you can select the patients you want to see and even contact them regularly. While this does not completely eliminate the possibility of meeting difficult patients and / or family members, providing personalized care means that you will be able to give each person your full attention and spend time and effort building better relationships. and personalize the care provided.
Whether you work in a hospital, care facility or at home, you are
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