3 Tips On Developing A Good Relationship With Your Patients

Developing a healthy relationship with your patients is quite important when you are in the field of medicine. Patients like it when they see that their doctor understands them and is in good terms with them. Patients are already in a stressful situation so it is the responsibility of the doctor to make sure that they help them feel better. The doctor can do such favorable acts for the patients if only he holds a good relationship with his patients. In this article, you will get to know about some important ways through which you can develop a good relationship with your patients. 

Know your patients:

The most important thing that you should do as a doctor is that you should try to know as much as you can about your patients. Ask all the important questions so that you can gather all the important information about your patients. Having adequate information about your patients is quite important because this is the first step towards building a good relationship with your patients. Understanding your patients and their physical plus mental condition will help you in better diagnosis which will eventually lead to better treatment. 

Try not to miss your appointments with the patients:

Another way through which you can develop a good relationship with your patients is that you should try not to miss your appointments with your patients. Make sure that you are there to meet your patients on the appointed time because it will help you develop a good relationship with them. It is an understood thing that doctors too have busy routines and there are times when they cannot fulfill their commitment but they must try to be on time no matter what. 

Listen to their problem carefully:

When your patients are explaining to you about their problems, make sure that you are listening to them very carefully and paying close attention to their issues so that you can offer the right solution to their problems. You would not be able to know a lot about your patients if you are in the habit of only speaking and not listening much.

Tips To Improve Your Venipuncture Technique

You might not be accustomed to the word venipuncture. Though a lot of us go through the phase of giving blood for various reasons, we still do not know what this process is called. Venipuncture is known as the technique of drawing out the blood from the veins of the patient. We see a number of experts doing this process and we know that this is not something that any layman can do; instead, you are required to have expertise in this field in order to be able to draw blood effectively. There is a number of ways through which you can draw blood out but you should always go for the best techniques. Make sure that your technique is pain-free and you do not hurt the patient in any way. You can improve your technique of drawing out the blood by following the tips that we are sharing in the article. 

First, explain the procedure to the patient:

The most important thing that a number of people do not do but they must is that they should explain the procedure of drawing blood to the patient. It helps the patient know that what exactly is going to happen. Ensure the patient that they will not have to go through much pain and try to make them at ease. Do not say anything that might frighten them. 

Take the consent of the patient:

It is always ethical to ask for the permission first and the patient will also like it when you will ask them before inserting the needle in the veins. 

Position the pin and insert slowly:

After you take the consent and explain the entire process to the patient, you should start positioning the pin and then start to insert the pin slowly. Make sure that the direction of the pin is correct and also ensure that you are not hurting the patient. It is obvious that the patient will feel minor pain when the pin is being inserted to the vein but you must make sure that other than going through the minor pain that the patient has to go through, they do not have to feel any additional pain. 

Draw out the blood instantly:

Once you insert the needle in do not wait and start drawing out the blood so that you can finish the process as soon as possible.  

-Alan L. Melotek

Why Is It Important For The Physician To Remember The Names Of Patients And How This Skill Can Be Enhanced?

The job of a physician involves meeting with several patients daily to treat them. The physician is required to create a strong relationship with the clients which should be based on trust. Patients will trust you if only you give them reasons to trust. Even in other circumstances, we do not tend to trust people who give us no solid reasons for trusting them. A physician should show great dedication towards his work and should deal with every single patient with a lot of care. Every patient should be given equal importance. It is very important for the physician to remember each and every patient by name because it helps a lot to develop a good relationship with the patients. 

While it is quite simple and easy task to learn a name when a patient comes to you and tells his or her name but this also needs to be kept in mind that a doctor does not deal with only one patient per day; instead he gets to deal with the number of patients on a daily basis which makes it quite difficult for him to remember the name of all the patients. This article intends to highlight how doctors can enhance their skills of remembering names in order to develop a good relationship with their patients. 

Listen carefully

Whenever a patient comes, it is the duty of the doctor to give considerable attention to what he or she says to him. The very first thing a patient should be asked about should be his or her name. Try to listen to the name carefully and repeat it in your mind sometimes so that you can memorize it. You will be able to do so only if you are paying an adequate amount of attention. 

Note down the names:

In order to memorize the name in a better way, doctors can also note down the name of the patient right after they tell them.  

Recall the names before meeting the patient again:

Before you go to meet the patient for the second time, recall the name.

How Are Family Physicians Different From General Physicians?

This question creates a lot of confusion in patients as well as medical students. Although both follow the approach of primary patient care and seem same, however, there are a few minute differences which make family medicine as a field totally different from general practice. 

Family medicine and general practice differ from one another in terms of the level of training, the focus of care and clinical approaches. Following are mentioned some of the major differences between the two specialties for further clarity of students as well as the patients.

Role of General physicians is trained to deal with medical issues of adults only. They might be able to provide medical advice for primary issues for all, however, for a more specialized disease or problem they will suggest the patient see the respective medical specialist. On the other hand, the family physician is trained to provide medical care to all members of the family regardless of their age and gender.

Both families, as well as general physicians, acquire the same training in medical school. However, family physicians have to gain additional training for one year after completion of their residency. General medical training is focused on common general medical conditions, along with basic experience in each of the internal medicine subspecialties (such as endocrinology, rheumatology, and infectious diseases) and neurology. 

Moreover, to facilitate comprehensive care for adults, general physicians are also provided experience in psychiatry, dermatology, ophthalmology, office gynecology, otorhinolaryngology, non-operative orthopedics, palliative medicine, sleep medicine, geriatrics, and rehabilitation medicine. 

On the other hand, family medicine training is provided in specialized outpatient training centers in which trainees work throughout the course of their training. They are required to provide acute, chronic, and wellness care for a panel of continuity patients. Family medicine trainees must also have experiences in behavioral health issues, common skin diseases, population health, and health system management, and there is a particular emphasis on wellness and disease prevention.

Hence, regardless of having some major differences, both general and family physicians have their unique set of skills and significant roles in the care of adult patients and facilitating primary health care as per the practice setting and the specific requirement of the patient.

-Alan L. Melotek

2 Ways to Make Your Patients Happier

Any doctor can treat his patients and help them get healthy but there are very few doctors who not only treat their patients but also make them happier. The patients are important for your practice, you need them and to keep them you should first make them happy. Do you want to have happy patients? Here are two ways to make your patients happier. 

1) Smile

You know how important a smile is? A smile can literally make someone's day. You don't know how much your smile means to people around you. Imagine talking to someone with a smile on your face, the next person will get happy instantly. Your patient might have had a bad day, he might have had a boring day, suffering from some personal problems or struggling in his personal life. Anything can happen in the lives of your patients, they might need help and you can cheer them up with your smile. Greet them with a smile on your face, a small smile from your side can make them smile ear to ear. Your smile shows that you are interested in treating your patients. It will make them feel happy, your parents won't think that you are treating them for money only. They'll feel a good connection with you. 

2) Address patients by their names

Addressing someone by their name can make them feel really good. You might see a patient once in a few months, imagine calling him by his name when he comes to see you? What will be the effect of this on the patients? They will feel very important and a lot happier. You will be able to impress your patients by just remembering their names. So, try to make an effort and try to remember their names. This will help you get patients who stay with you for a long time. It's not easy to get patients who stay by your side always. Do this and you'll be able to impress your patients.