Can you communicate with your doctor?
Doctors can be a funny bunch. All too often specialists an come across more as scientists who view your illness as a fascinating problem to be solved rather than caring, empathetic healers. This is not to say that every rheumatologist is to be tarred with the same brush, but regardless of which doctor you see, there are five key strategies that you can use to communicate effectively with your practitioner.
1. “Look into my eyes… deep into my eyes…”
Okay, well we don’t want to hypnotise our doctors, but making eye contact is a key communication strategy. With the trappings of the modern consulting rooms doctors can be easily distracted by test results, computers, notes, telephony systems and everything else that is there to make life easier and more efficient.
Wait until your doctor has finished with the distraction and you can make direct eye contact with them.
2. “It hurts. In a prickly-throbby-crushing-stinging-burny kinda way…”
While most doctors spend more time in their studies learning about the illness rather than their communication skills, doctors are trained to think in general terms and then in specific terms. As such, when describing your symptoms, try to move from general descriptions and then refine your experience to specific statements.
For example, you might tell your doctor that you have frequently have a rash that appears on your arms, legs and trunk. Then, describe how the rash appears at night time after 6pm and has a raised, splotchy appearance that itches and is warm to touch.
4. “I feel like crud, but I look great!
Doctors are also trained to move from subjective statements to objective data. Your communication success will skyrocket if you can discuss your experience with Still’s Disease in a similar way.
For example, when describing joint pain, you might start by telling your doctor that the constant pain makes it difficult for you to walk and that makes you feel tired, fatigued and irritable. You might describe the pain on a scale of 1-10; “It’s a constant ‘6′ but at nights it spikes to a solid ‘8′..” Once you have described the feelings, then go on to describe exactly which joints are affected, describe the level of swelling and any other physical characteristics that the inflammation may have.
4. “Tell it to me straight doc, will I ever play the mandolin again?”
It is very important that you describe to your rheumatologist how Still’s Disease affects your life. Go into detail about the impacts that your relationships, sleep and quality of life may be experiencing as a result of your illness. This is undoubtedly the best way that you can convey to what level the illness is affecting your life and can tell your doctor much more than the results of a blood test.
It is important that you remind your doctor that you are a person and not a diagnosis or file-number.
5. “Have…you…got…that…?”
Pause between parts of your story. Give your doctor the chance to ask questions, make notes and refer to your patient file.
Although your rheumatologist is the expert on Still’s Disease, it is ultimately your responsibility to clearly communicate your story with them. Remember that while your condition has a huge impact on your life, it really has very little impact on your doctor’s. That is not to say that they don’t care - quite the contrary - but they do see 10 to 20 patients a day, every day. As such, use these communication strategies to make sure that your story is getting through to them loud and clear. You’ll be suprised at the positive impact that this will make on your health care.
How easy do you find it to communicate with your doctor? Please leave a comment below.
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