TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR DOCTOR

TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR DOCTOR

“A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something.”
~Wilson Mizner

 Assume a position of comfort
 Establish eye contact
 Listen without interrupting
 Show attention with nonverbal cues, such as nodding
 Allow expression of feelings
 Make sure your concerns are heard
 Pay attention to clues, like your doctor looking distracted, wait and come back when he/she has finished their thought (I am horrible at this, because I am afraid I will forget, but if the doctor’s mind is on something else, he/she isn’t ready to listen)
 Take a list and put your priority at the top, you might not have time to cover it all in one setting
 Make it clear that you want the doctor as a TEAM member in your healthcare
 Give the doctor credit for working with the information you have given
 If the doctor isn’t listening, GET A NEW ONE

(Also see, “Does Your Doctor Have Wax in His Ears?”)