My latest opinion piece, co-written with Placebo Journal’s Doug Farrago, was published in Medscape today.
Entitled, Help for Today’s Tense, Frustrated Doctors (registration required), we discuss how doctors benefit from finding a ray of humor, despite the glum practice environment many physicians find themselves in:
Patients also can benefit from some levity during their doctor’s visit. We’ve heard from many patients who are growing increasingly dissatisfied after receiving medical care. They report little eye contact, decreased face-to-face time, and feeling depersonalized. These are all consequences of a medical system that promotes rushed physician encounters.
As the doctor-patient relationship deteriorates, can a well-placed, appropriate joke help?
Yes. Sharing lighter moments can make appointments feel less hurried and have patients thinking, “Hey, this doctor spent a few minutes to tell a joke, rather than rushing straight to the lab results or x-ray report.” Sensitive topics can be broached more easily once a shared laugh breaks the proverbial ice.
Enjoy the piece.
Related posts:
- How should doctors handle the difficult patient?
- Doctors take risks by treating celebrity patients
- Racial barriers in medicine
- Would you accept a lower salary if you could graduate from medical school debt free?
- Chatty doctors
- Doctors dealing with difficult patients, is it the fault of young physicians?
- Pre-rounds on Medscape
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I had one of my most successful and pleasant doctor’s appointments back in September with an orthopedic surgeon who chatted and joked through the entire exam. When I had surgery last year, I remember my surgeon making me laugh from the time he came to wheel me into the OR until the time I fell asleep.
A sense of humour makes a big difference for doctors and patients alike.
some patients don’t like jokes- they feel that they shouldn’t be paying the doctor to joke around.