Well, it finally happened. It wasn't very smooth, but I have greatly improved in my patient interaction skills over the past three months. Back then, I was hesitant and intimidated by a plain old interview with an adult patient. I've now come to the point where I am hesitant and intimidated by a psychiatric interview with a 13-year-old girl. Three biggies there: psychiatric, so emotionally or mentally, things are not ideal; 13yo, and I'm turning into an old fart, so I'm out of touch; and girl, and I obviously have limited firsthand experience dealing with the struggles facing females. I was much better at maintaining cohesion of the interview even during times I knew I was tanking (maintaining cohesion = me not curling up on the floor and weeping silently). I'm sure she would rather pull out her toenails than go through that again, but I was so glad to see the progress I'm making.
I was still able to critique myself, though. I need to work on not letting the mood get down: I'm afraid to minimize their negative experiences and thoughts, but while acknowledging those things, I need to stay upbeat throughout so I don't get the patient in a negatively-focused rut. I need to improve my ability to allow a conversation to flow and direct it so I can simultaneously build rapport and gather info. The doc I'm with asked a patient if she's into texting and Facebook, to which she said yes. In his dictation, he mentioned she's sociable, so he was not only just talking to build rapport, but learning about her interests and evaluating her sociability. I was thinking later that one could also infer a certain amount about her intelligence, technological aptitude, cultural awareness, etc.
I just remembered the last physical I gave last month. I did a prostate exam and totally forgot to give the poor guy some tissue to clean off the lubricant! I did remember once his pants were back in place, but he declined when I finally offered -- A-W-K-W-A-R-D! Live and learn, I guess. Much respect for the patient patients.
Scott
Fading away?
7 years ago
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