Saturday, September 8, 2007

Bedside Manner

There's apparently evidence that suggests that theater classes for medical students might improve their bedside manner.

Of all of the things that are wrong with our healthcare system, bedside manner is their priority? What's next, handwriting classes?

Here's my theory on that.

If the drug-seekers, the free-riders, the self-entitlement asses, the busybody mothers who won't listen because they know what's best so why can't you just do what they tell you, the drunks, and the all-around PITA frequent flyers weren't outnumbering the real patients 3 or 4 to 1, our bedside manner wouldn't appear to suck so bad.

Because the real patients love us. And our bedside manner with them is top notch. No acting needed.

11 comments:

RealisticRN said...

MG,
OMG! Now that I think about it, the 4 nice comment cards/notes I've ever received (in the last 4 years) have been from REAL patients! And there was no acting! Maybe if I had some acting lessons, I would have many more thank you's/glowing reviews.
Once again, you hit it!

Spook, RN said...

Heh!

I just finished my self-eval last noc.

Peppered throughout the document was references to "customer" (e.g.: Show an incident where your teaching led to a positive customer outcome).

I made a 'silent' point by writing "Patient" in ALL my responses.

cheers,
Spook (wishing for visiting hours and "quiet please" signs).

Ambulance Driver said...

"There's apparently evidence that suggests that theater classes for medical students might improve their bedside manner."

Well, yeah. Everyone knows that sincerity is the key.

Once you can fake that, everything else is easy, right?

Christine said...

I've been a real patient and had absolute assholes for doctors and nurses. An improved bedside manner would have made all the difference in the world during a few difficult times for me. And aren't health care pros in it cause they want to help patients? I think some doctors/nurses have good bedside manner naturally, but there are plenty I'd love to see improve on their's.

ERnursey said...

Amen, MG. Why not quit pandering to the 'self-entitlement assholes' and focus our efforts on the people that really need our help, our PATIENTS? (notice I did not say customers.)

You'd think management would figure our that the non-patients are also the non-payer.

911DOC said...

is this surprising? not to me. it's all my fault and i have come to accept this. i'm sorry. maybe i'll go on tv and play a doctor, the actors who play doctors get more respect anyway. i bet if i looked i could find various issues of 'people' or 'us' where some goofball 'journalist' asks health related questions to these idiots. off to piss the next patietn off. toodles.

ps as john lovitz used to say, "ACTING!"

girlvet said...

Why is it that doctors have to be taught bedside manner? It seems to come natural to nurses. Different perspective in medicine?

Gemini Interrupted said...

I have been lucky enough in the few hospital visits I've had to have that absolute best in both nurses and doctors. My own personal doctor though - has a horrible bedside manner!

I applaud all of the work that medical professionals do in a hospital (especially an ER).

shrimplate said...

Doctors and nurses are not your friends.

Bostonian in NY said...

From the perspective of a medical student who's had a few of those "bedside manner" classes (or an entire 6 months of them with atleast 6 "communicating with pts" sessions this year), they are more or less a waste of time. Yeah, some interesting perspectives were brought up in discussing how to deal with different cultures, sexual orientation, children, the elderly, and people under extreme duress...but it wasn't anything groundbreaking to anyone with an ounce of common sense/common courtesy. Sadly, those last things are often missing among my classmates.

I'm truly sorry for anyone that has had to deal with an asshole doc with poor bedside manner. I've worked with them and it angers/frustrates all of us from the lowly second year med student to the head of the department.

Anonymous said...

Guess what? They already have handwriting classes too!