Dealing With Difficult Patients In Healthcare

When dealing with difficult patients, the calmer you can be, the calmer your

patient is likely to be. It's hard to have an argument with someone who remains maddeningly calm. If you have a patient who tries to press your buttons, it may be hard to remain impassive, or even just outwardly so, but do your best.

Dealing With Difficult Patients There are two ways to handle a difficult pat

ient: The first approach is that a particular patient is always demanding, and you do not have to listen to him/her. The second approach is to spend extra time with that patient.

Dealing with a passive-aggressive patient can be challenging. However, healt

h providers should avoid becoming discouraged and continue to perform interventions by implementing one or more of the following strategies: Help the patient recognize the negative consequences and take responsibility for their behavior

Just like any profession that involves dealing with the public, nursing can

mean working with people that are difficult in a manner of ways. You can run into all reactions including defensiveness, anger, fear, demandingness, hysteria and a whole list of other things And that’s just the patients, not the families that you need to work with and work around.

Healthcare workers sometimes have a great deal of conflict with a client or

patient. This is one reason why a client may be classified as “difficult”. Conflict is a part of interpersonal relationships. Therefore, you can expect that there will be times of conflict with clients. Many reasons exist for this conflict.

Taking care of difficult patients can be very difficult and stressful. The a

bove-listed tips will help you overcome some of the difficulties that you might face while working as a nurse. Keep in mind that, no matter how bad the situation is, keeping calm is the mantra to handle difficult patients.

Not all difficult encounters can be blamed on the patient side of the intera

ction. Physician attitudes about care, fatigue, stress and burnout can create circumstances in which physicians are...

When dealing with difficult patients, it is important to watch your verbal a

s well as body language in order to prevent the situation from worsening. Usually, difficult patients will attempt to force you into a heated argument so that you end up becoming verbally aggressive.

While each physician has his or her own perspective on difficult patient enc

ounters, these often involve patients who have unrealistic expectations of their care or health, insist on treatments that are not clinically indicated, are dissatisfied with their care, ignore medical advice, or engage in verbal abuse. 1 Difficult patient encounters ...

Controlling family members make caring for patients difficult, but when thei

r fears are addressed, they may be transformed into invaluable assets to the patient care team. Having a well-thought-out plan in place can alleviate stress, educate family members, and facilitate their integration into the team so that patients get the care they need.

When you're dealing with a person behaving unreasonably, the fear response c

enter in your brain (the fight-flight-freeze part) is going to be activated. This part of the brain can't distinguish...

When dealing with difficult patients, your first gut reaction might be to me

et them where they are at. Fight fire with fire, but I encourage you to remain calm. Getting worked up by a patient will cause you to not think clearly about the situation. 2.

Managing difficult patients can be a challenge to the health care provider a

nd to the entire ED. The hostile aggressive patient, the demanding patient, the know-it-all, the excessively anxious patient, and the incessant complainer, are some of the folks that we need to know how to manage effectively.

Difficult patients come in many varieties. Some, like Elaine, are insubordin

ate and evasive. Others simply don’t comply with doctor’s orders or show up for appointments. And a fair number of patients have drug dependency or mental health problems that adversely influence their behavior.

Difficult interactions with patients can take up a disproportionate amount o

f a doctor’s time, resources, and emotional energy. They can cause the doctor to feel stress, anxiety, anger, and helplessness, and can even lead to a dislike of the patient and the use of avoidance strategies.

4 Types of Difficult Patients. Difficult patients aren't a new conundrum for

healthcare professionals. As a 2010 article in Neurology points out, some patients can adeptly provoke a reaction from a neurologist. The authors pay homage to a pioneering piece from 1978 by James Groves, M.D., called "Taking Care of the Hateful Patient," in which the ...

Taking the time to get to know and connect with a difficult patient is a gre

at way to show you care about them as a person and not just another item your to-do list. “Talk to the family and try to get to know the patient through their eyes,” recommends Haydel. Ask questions about their hobbies, job and likes and dislikes.

It can be very difficult to maintain composure and resolve conflict appropri

ately in some of today's sticky healthcare situations. If you're a healthcare professional or work in a healthcare environment, you're bound to deal with difficult patients. And, if not handled correctly, a difficult patient can escalate into a hazardous event.

Dr. Cullen makes a point of holding team meetings with the specific intentio

n of helping his staff better handle difficult patients. In one meeting, the leadership team analyzed the 20 patients the staff found most difficult and “incorporated…expectations into the patient’s treatment contract” to help.

Healthcare professionals in all disciplines are called upon frequently to de

al with unique and difficult patient situations. As nurses, you spend more time with patients than any other profession and deal with difficult patient situations frequently because of the front line position you hold within healthcare.

• How the behavior can impact healthcare delivery • Consequences deliver

ed if behavior continues. When explained that this behavior agreement is a tool to help both patient and staff, rather than a punitive measure, patients can respond surprisingly well. Many do not have a good grasp of the impact their behavior has on others.

The "difficult patient" is a well-known figure in everyday mental health car

e yet is underrepresented in research reports. The adjective difficult often refers to the lack of cooperation between patient and professional: although the patient seeks help and care, the patient does not readily accept what is offered.

Nurses are taught to be non-judgmental. Labelling a patient as unpleasant ca

n be unhelpful: rather, think of the interaction as difficult. Many healthcare encounters are emotionally charged, involving fear and worry, pain and distress – for friends and relatives, as well as patients; this can create a volatile situation.

The difficult patient is often trying to tell you that they are currently li

ving a difficult life. They may lack trust in healthcare as a whole, feel mistreated or ignored, have personality problems, social or financial problems.

Arguing with a patient or defending yourself may make the situation worse. K

eep your cool and try not to take things personally. Show Empathy: Healthcare workers usually are empathetic by nature, but showing empathy is especially important when dealing with difficult patients.

What all these patients are likely to have in common is the inability to dea

l with emotional pain in a healthy and constructive way. Sadly, this cannot be taught in a 10-minute consultation. It is easy for a GP to become subconsciously paternalistic under these circumstances, which can lead to dysfunctional consultations.

A flippant or careless response can damage patient loyalty and confidence. O

ne way to tackle this issue is to dialog with staff about common potentially negative interactions with patients. Staff need to understand the tone and culture you expect them to reflect in every interaction.

Communicating with Children Communicating effectively with children and youn

ger patients is one of the most difficult aspects of healthcare. Not only are you trying to explain a difficult concept to a young person in terms they can understand, you also need to include their parents as well.

Instead, health care needs to be a partnership among patients, families and

clinicians to work well. “Our goal,” said Dr. Herzke, “should be to feel good about ourselves and our care.” Types of difficult behavior According to Dr. Herzke, different factors can create difficult patient interactions.

Difficult patients are an unfortunate fact of life in healthcare. But knowin

g how to identify, understand and respond to them can make your work life safer and less stressful. Identify Difficult Patients. It's sometimes possible to predict which patients will likely become difficult, abusive or violent.

When dealing with patients, you tend to say things you do not mean, and more

often than not, give promises that you cannot keep. Remember that the patients expect so much from nurses that they will believe whatever nurses will tell them. Never compromise.

A research article in the International Journal of Research in Medical Scien

ces found that at least 20% of patients in healthcare settings are perceived as being difficult to deal with by the staff. There are many reasons why patients may become difficult, including pain, the inability to be patient, and more.

So, the truth is, people are difficult to deal with, some more than others.

Some all of the time, and some just part of the time. This is a critical issue in healthcare where stress levels tend to run high, and the pandemic only makes it worse. As healthcare employees, we work on the frontlines of the distressed, overwhelmed and frightened.

Strategies for Diffusing Difficult Patient Situations Healthcare Training Re

source June 14, 2013 — 2,555 views . This article addresses the ways in which nursing staff can develop effective strategies for dealing with difficult patients. Patients can be “difficult” for a variety of reasons including disease, medications or temperament.

An integral part of running a successful healthcare practice is dealing with

patients, especially difficult ones. Even the most reputable medical practices, at some point, encounter a difficult patient. How you deal with difficult patients could mean the difference between a satisfied patient or the one who never comes back to your practice.

Dealing with an aggressive patient takes care, judgement and self-control. R

emain calm, listen to what they are saying, ask open-ended questions. Reassure them and acknowledge their grievances. Provide them with an opportunity to explain what has angered them.

It can be hard, at times, to handle difficult patients as a medical professi

onal. This video has some tips that can help. 💥How to Deal with Difficult Patien...

Should a patient threaten suicide, consultation with a mental health profess

ional is imperative. ... Close more info about A Psychologist’s Advice for Dealing With Difficult Patients

Home » Blog » Patient Experience » Establish Boundaries With Difficult Pa

tients Early, Before the Relationship Descends Into Crazy Town. By Stewart Gandolf Chief Executive Officer. Be forewarned, this is an “elephant in the room” post about dealing with difficult patients. It’s a common situation and a sensitive topic.

To help you deal with these tricky patients here are the top 5 things you sh

ould remember. 1. Engage in Conversation. Many people find going to the doctors stressful. When you are dealing with difficult patients, engaging them in conversation is a good way to help ease the tension and assist in de-escalating the situation.

We’ve spoken with multiple allied healthcare professionals to discover how

they deal with less-than-ideal situations. Here are our top five tips to help you handle tough situations – and difficult patients – before they get the better of you. 1. Manage Your Own Stress and Anger

Posted on November 16, 2016 by administrator • Posted in awareness, Commun

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The failure to comply can sometimes occur because the patient refuses to adh

ere to instruction by a healthcare provider. It is difficult to deal with non-compliant patients due to the frustration of trying to help someone who has no concern about the effort and danger of failing to take medication according to prescriptions.

Healthcare professionals have a hard time dealing with such patients. They a

ppear angry, nagging, and sometimes simply impossible. But they have come for treatment, and it is the system’s duty and responsibility to provide them with the best care and support.

Dealing with Difficult Patients and Healthcare Personnel How to effectively

communicate in the healthcare industry. Continuing Education Credits: CEU: 0.6 CPE: 6 . Download Brochure

Also, always remember that being a patient or the family of the patient is a

difficult place to be under any circumstances. “What nurses do best is to educate patients and families,” says Leslie G. Oleck, MSN, PMHCNS-BC, LMFT, a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist and a graduate instructor at the Indiana University School of Nursing.

4 thoughts on “ The most common types of difficult patients and families�

�and how to deal ” Beverly Anderson, MSN, RN May 29, 2017 at 5:55 pm. Hourly rounds-alternate with CNA, mandatory scripting education with unit housekeeper/all staff entering a patient room works well and usually makes patient, families visitors happy.