If you’ve been in healthcare for some time, you’ve almost certainly encountered frustrated, angry, and emotionally charged patients.
Frustrated and Angry Patients: A simple point of frustration or disagreement can escalate quickly
You’ve probably seen firsthand how a simple point of frustration or disagreement can escalate quickly. Which could lead to litigation in the worst case scenario.
A large part of the healthcare professional’s job is to compassionately care for patients in potentially sensitive and delicate circumstances.
Therefore, below we will devise several practical strategies to help reduce conflict between patients when emotions are on the rise.
The ability to identify emotions
Without a doubt, the first step in dealing with emotionally charged patients is being able to acknowledge their state of frustration and / or anger even when they do not verbally express what they feel.
The authors of the article by Geeky medics, “How to deal with angry patients and family members,” they write: “It is very important that we first identify that the person we are talking to is angry. The ability to identify emotions is very useful when communicating with patients and families. Once the emotion is identified, we can begin to respond accordingly with empathy, reassurance or an apology, depending on how the patient feels and the events that have occurred.
Consider the following behaviors as signs of potential anger:
- Talking or yelling loudly
- Insults / verbal abuse
- Hypersensitivity to what is said
- Aggressive posture, not wanting to sit.
- Walking / threatening to walk away
- Going and coming
- An increase in the tone of the voice
- Shake / clench the fist
- Change in eye contact (for example, looking down suddenly)
- Frowning
These are behaviors that can be easily identified. But there are also more subtle signs of anger, such as giving one-word responses, anger, and sudden silence. Being able to correctly perceive and interpret the behaviors of patients is the first step to alleviate the situation.
Conflict reduction techniques
Tip No. # 1: keep calm:
This may be the most important step in reducing conflict with a patient. Control your own emotion. Matching their anger to your reaction will only make things worse. Stay calm and prepare to listen.
Tip No. # 2: don’t blame anyone:
Now is not the time to recite company policy, and by doing so you may amplify the patient’s anger. Avoid “you” statements that naturally point the finger at the patient.
I would like to point out that it only serves to undermine the integrity of the entire healthcare team and / or facility when you blame another staff member. This generates distrust in the patient.
Tip No. 3 – Get to the bottom of the problem:
Express a genuine desire to partner with them to solve the problem using statements like, “Let’s try to solve this together.” Also, be sure to ask questions, letting the patient know that you care for them and that you are committed to solving the problem to the best of your ability.
Tip # 4 – Admit mistakes:
Feel free to apologize if you make a mistake. This can be of great help to the patient: maintaining a good relationship and instilling trust. Make sure to let the patient know that you will fix the problem and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Tip No. # 5: Gently Report:
If the patient is at fault, deliver the news gently and in a way that you can see clearly, then help them find the solution.
The 360 Training blog says: “Repeat what they told you was the problem. To an angry customer: ‘You said this shirt shrunk when you washed it’ so they agree. Then explain what happened: ‘This shirt is silk. Here on the label it says it should only be dry cleaned. If you put it in the washer and dryer, it will shrink. ‘
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