Patients have only 11 seconds to explain the reason for their consultation before being interrupted by the doctor.
When you do not feel listened to by a healthcare professional, experience can become frustrating, even discouraging. This is called “medical Gaslighting”, a form of manipulation where a minimized, invalid health professional or denies the symptoms of a patient, making him doubt his own perception or reality. It is rarely intentional and it often reflects a healthy health system where caregivers are taken between medical rigor, time constraint and emotional overload. A study published in the Journal of internal and general medicine showed that patients have only 11 seconds to explain the reason for their consultation before being interrupted by the doctor. In this context, a simple sentence, well chosen, can make all the difference to be heard and improve dialogue.
This sentence must be concise and summarize your main concern, Dr. Negin Hajizadeh, pulmonologist and intensive care specialist immediately indicates. According to her, it is better to focus her speech on a detailed and specific symptom rather than drawing up a list of waving symptoms. This allows the doctor to quickly identify the reason for the visit, to better understand the patient and to take his concern more seriously, she specifies in an interview with the fortune media. “”You should not see the doctor as an “opponent” but an ally: his work is to help you solve your medical problems and give a boost of confidence to patients who are afraid of finding themselves in front of a wall with their health care providers“Continues the specialist.
He quotes a sentence precisely to say to his doctor to quickly understand himself: “I am here because (the symptom) has worked for me since (the duration) and I would like it to be examined seriously“. It works well because it is respectful, specifies and clearly expresses the reason for the consultation. It pushes active listening without confrontation. In parallel,”Are you preparing to answer these common questions: what bothers you? When did it start? What aggravates it? What improves it?“Advises Dr. Negin Hajizadeh.
His other tip to optimize a medical appointment and facilitate exchange with the professional: being accompanied in the office by a member of your family, a friend, a partner or a caregiver. “The presence of a person concerned with your well-being can give you the confidence necessary to express yourself or ask the important questions”, he concludes.
