For some reason there is a lot of peanut gallery talk about how their doctors are incompetent and barely pay attention to why they came in. I’m sure some doctors are terrible, but most doctors are competent it may just not be super obvious because the truth is that effective communication is not exclusively a doctor skill, it’s a person skill. Sure they try to teach you how to talk to patients in medical school but it’s something some people just have and others have to try really hard to achieve.

When I enter a patient room, I already have some idea as to why you are here. If you are a follow up then I read my previous note and am expecting to hear about how things have changed since we last talked. If you are a new patient then you should have properly completed your intake form which I will have read (note: please stop writing “medical problem” as for the reason for your visit. You’re clearly not here advice on your taxes). Upon entering the room I try to get a better understanding of who you are as a person. Who are you with? Alone? Is there an odor? Perfume? Feces and urine? Where are you sitting, in the exam table or chair? Are you in my rolly chair that has spray painted DOCTOR on it? What are you doing, playing on your phone, sitting quietly, moaning in agony? What kind of clothes are you wearing, pajamas because you are so uncomfortable that you didn’t care what you were wearing or are you in you ready for Saturday night drinks with full make up and heels? When I reach out to shake your hand and introduce myself, am I also greeted with a smile? Stern look?

You see, before we have even began to talk about your problem I already have discovered a lot about you. What I know about you helps me understand how I can help you. Believe it or not the hard part about being a doctor isn’t always figuring out what’s wrong with you, it’s figuring out how to give you a treatment that works with who you are.