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    Card Angry Patient

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    Danonino12
    This document provides guidance on effectively managing interactions with angry patients. It recommends acknowledging the strong emotion, remaining calm and in control of the situation, and determining the cause of the patient's anger by listening without judgment. The goals are to validate the patient's feelings, clarify expectations, problem solve together if needed, and express a desire to help in order to de-escalate the anger. The key is to understand the emotion rather than becoming furious in response.

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    Card Angry Patient

    Uploaded by

    Danonino12
    222 views2 pages
    This document provides guidance on effectively managing interactions with angry patients. It recommends acknowledging the strong emotion, remaining calm and in control of the situation, and determining the cause of the patient's anger by listening without judgment. The goals are to validate the patient's feelings, clarify expectations, problem solve together if needed, and express a desire to help in order to de-escalate the anger. The key is to understand the emotion rather than becoming furious in response.

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    This document provides guidance on effectively managing interactions with angry patients. It recommends acknowledging the strong emotion, remaining calm and in control of the situation, and determining the cause of the patient's anger by listening without judgment. The goals are to validate the patient's feelings, clarify expectations, problem solve together if needed, and express a desire to help in order to de-escalate the anger. The key is to understand the emotion rather than becoming furious in response.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    222 views2 pages

    Card Angry Patient

    Uploaded by

    Danonino12
    This document provides guidance on effectively managing interactions with angry patients. It recommends acknowledging the strong emotion, remaining calm and in control of the situation, and determining the cause of the patient's anger by listening without judgment. The goals are to validate the patient's feelings, clarify expectations, problem solve together if needed, and express a desire to help in order to de-escalate the anger. The key is to understand the emotion rather than becoming furious in response.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Difficult

    Doctor-Patient
    Interactions

    Division of Medical Education

    Communication Skills Program


    csp.medicine.dal.ca
    (902) 494-6307

    The Angry Patient


    Anger is the expression of a primary emotion (fear, frustration,
    insecurity, shame). Focus on the primary emotion and its cause.
    The Aim of Interaction is to move the pt who is in the throes of a
    powerful emotion to a calmer place where you can work together.

    1.

    Acknowledge that you are in the


    presence of a strong emotion

    Anger aimed at you is an attack you will feel it as such


    Reflect on your own feelings of threat? surprise?

    2. Appear calm, interested & in control

    Sit or stand at eye level with pt


    Look like you are there for a while
    Avoid interruptions & distractions
    Use a tone of voice that makes an unspoken statement of
    support

    3. Determine the cause of anger

    Listen without interruption


    Accept non-judgmentally what pt says
    Acknowledge pts situation & name the emotion
    If I understand correctly, youre feeling angry about not
    being told about
    Wait in silence for pts response to your acknowledgement
    Do not counter with your own ideas - avoid saying, yes, but
    If you do not understand the source of pt anger, say so
    Im sorry, Im still a little confused about why youre so
    angry. Can you tell me more?

    4. Be empathetic & Compasionate

    Show you understand pts difficulty & validate pts


    emotion I can appreciate how frustrating it is when you
    feel like no one is listening to you; I understand that the
    possibility of losing someone you love can be frightening.
    Calibrate the emotion - eg. do not use the word upset if
    pt is furious
    Be prepared to express your understanding several times
    to diffuse anger

    5. Clarify Boundaries & pt expectations

    What would make you feel better about this now?


    If pts expectation is unreasonable, address this and
    offer an alternative I understand that you would like me
    tosince we have never discussed this before, I will have
    to get more information.

    6. If pt is angry about something you did


    consider apologizing

    Many complaining patients say that what they want most


    of all is an apology

    7. Problem solve together

    Acknowledge if there is a difficulty for youI find it


    difficult to proceed knowing we have different views.
    Encourage pt to contribute as an equal. Offer choices
    If appropriate, offer help in the future... If this happens again,
    perhaps we could talk sooner and I could be more helpful.

    KEY MESSAGE The best response to anger is to acknowledge its


    presence, try to understand it, and express a desire to help.
    Accept the challenge. Be curious not furious.
    References:
    Kurtz, S., Silverman, J., & Draper, J. (2005). Teaching and learning
    communication skills in medicine (2nd ed). Oxon: Radcliffe.
    Oncology Education for Health Professionals. Communication Skills
    Facilitator Training Manual. (2005). Cancer Care Nova Scotia, Dalhousie
    University & Irondale Ensemble Project. Province of Nova Scotia.
    Platt, F., & Gordon, G. (2004). Field guide to the difficult patient
    interview (2nd ed). New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

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