This article is a rerun! It was originally published August 31,2010.
I am tired of being treated as a number…not a person! So I’m serving notice now, on all medical personnel. Watch out! I’m developing the chip on my shoulder that I never wanted to have.
Yes, I’m one of you, a nurse. Maybe that is why it bothers me so much. Yes, I worked in a doctor’s office nearly ten years…during very changing times in medical care I might add. We were taught about customer service (realizing that people had a choice when it came to their medical care).
I understand about the pressures from your side of the desk. The pressure is always on to work faster and produce more. The phone NEVER stops ringing…EVER. The rudeness on the other end of the line is irritating and often undeserved.
Still, it doesn’t represent every patient. It represents a few. I’m sorry people are being rude to you but please don’t take it out on the rest of us. “A soft answer turns away wrath.” is not a hard and fast rule, but an observation that is often true. It is not an easy choice to make, but the rewards are great!
And have you forgotten that we are patients?
We actually have some type of disease process going on. We are not in your office because we came by for a chat!
We may be in the process of recovery, we may have dressed so that we look pretty good on the outside, but we are rarely at 100%. Sometimes we are downright ill. Please take that into consideration when you speak with us. Beside that, you have no idea what else is going on in our lives as well. I get that you also have your own problems. But this is your job.
The difference between you and me is that you are getting paid to do this job and you are expected to be professional in the way you relate to patients, no matter what is going on outside of the office. I am the patient.
You are supposed to care for me. You are also in a service role.
This is not a put-down, it is a statement of fact. You don’t have to be syrupy sweet. But polite would help, maybe even friendly. I guess warm might be asking a little too much?
Bear in mind that without the patients in your office, there is no income and your job dries up really fast! If you look at satisfied patients in the office as job security for yourself instead of as a nuisance, it will change your view of their simple requests or questions that really only take a minute or two of your time to satisfy.
It might also affect the ways you ask patients for information. (Making a clear request vs. assuming they know what you need/want.) By the way, they are not being unreasonable to ask “Why?”.
I don’t know if I get upset being treated this way because it is dehumanizing or because I know how you are supposed to treat me. I think that the dehumanized treatment gets to me at a level I don’t always realize until it is too late.
Generally, treating people with honor and respect results in respectful treatment back.
For sure, getting into power struggles with patients does no one any good…EVER! It also gobbles up time. That is no help for some one who is already overworked!
***This blog brought to you by a frustrated patient who has been to more doctor’s offices than she has wanted to lately. Some are well run, with pleasant, cheerful and professional staff who are a pleasure to deal with. A few, including one I’ve had to deal with in the last few days, are abysmally difficult and make each simple request into a major mountain to climb! In this one, the doctor is fine, the staff impossible! If I had any other option, I would take it.
***I was encouraged to see, on my last visit to this doctor, that he has a new person in this job. She is happy to be there. She likes people…and it comes through. It was delightful! 12/2011
Good for you, Martha! This is indeed a problem in the medical community. Another thing that bothers me is the feeling that one is just a “case” or a “specimen.” The people treating the patient often seem to forget that they are treating a PERSON who has feelings and a need for hope. That realization seems to have disappeared amid fears of lawsuits. The idea is “Tell the patient the absolute truth and include every dire possibility because if you don’t, he/she may sue you!” Research has shown that patients are acrutlly less likely to sue doctors that they like! Undooubtedly those who treat them kindly!!
Ralph and I have both had really awful experiences with this. Fortunately, we have been able to throw it off to a fairly great extent. However, it’s impossible to throw if off completely and I know people whose lives are literally DESTROYED by this kind of behavior on the part of medical personnel. Everything is geared toward avoiding lawsuits. In addition to that, we now have a self-centered culture where there an increasing lack of respect and care for others. It’s a predatory society. The young people exhibit this mose profoundly. I’m not optimistic about my future in the medical community!
i realize that for the most part, i’m preaching to the choir. it is also a reminder to myself to not get focused on the job but the people. i had a failure in that area recently…big time. it is good for me to be on the receiving end of things so i get reminded to treat patients like people, not numbers. by God’s grace, I will!