Handling Rude and Difficult Patients

Anyone who has worked in customer service knows the difficulty of dealing with unruly people. This is twice as hard in the healthcare industry, given that certain patients or families will go for expensive lawsuits when given the opportunity. Emotions run high in hospitals, even when all the healthcare staff wants to do to help their fellow man.

If you’re new to healthcare and hospital drama, you know that dealing with difficult patients is something you should master as soon as possible. Here are a few pointers to how you can deal with such situations:

Know your limitations

If you’re a physician, a greenhorn nurse, or even an unpaid volunteer, you should know your limits on what you can and can’t do. This means if an angry patient comes in and demands that you do something urgently, you must be able to calm them down, let them tell you the situation, and then decide on what to do or who to bring this up to.

Be understanding, but don’t forget that you’re a human being too

Doctors go through all sorts of verbal abuse now and then. From specific points of view, it's understandable. But if you're a doctor, you must do everything to provide a bit of comfort to your patients without resorting to anger or short bursts of subtle sarcasm. You need to control yourself no matter how tempting it is to pull a Dr. House on someone.

Empathize with the patients and tell them positive stories of people who have survived or lived through what they're suffering from. Some of them can blow through the five stages of denial in a single hour, which is good. The faster they can accept the situation, the better it is for everyone.

Keep in mind that no matter how good you are at dealing with such cases, you're still going to want to invest in malpractice insurance. Avail one from a decent non-insurance company in the Philippines..

Follow up with the patient whenever possible

Lastly, the best way to get on a patient's good side is to assure them that you're working on it and then follow up with a report at the soonest time possible. This will give them the impression of being prioritized rather than forgotten.

Of course, it can be challenging to juggle if the hospital is experiencing heavy traffic, but sometimes the small things like this help patients relax in the long run.

Remember, these people look up to you for answers and guidance. Be gentle, be kind, but most importantly, help them the best way you can.

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