When a patient is unwell and seeking help, a vast number of emotions could be going through their mind. Their whole life could have been turned upside down, they may have been fearing this moment for a while, and stressing over the implications of their illness. To physicians, it may sometimes feel like just another name on our list or almost become a routine mechanical interaction, but for the patient — it’s their life on the line. Therefore, when any patient sees us, a huge number of them (if not the majority) are going to be a bit nervous. It’s important physicians recognize this. Doing so will help us do our job much better. As human beings, we innately have an ability to almost immediately perceive nervousness or anxiety in others (it’s something that goes back to caveman days as a basic survival mechanism). There are lots of body language signals that give this away, including very subtle things such as how someone blinks.
I wanted to briefly summarize three of the most easily noticeable:
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
