AAD
  • Registration
  • Daily Coverage
  • Industry Highlights
  • Product Samples
  • Small Exhibit Spotlight
  • Program
Topics
  • Daily Coverage
  • Industry Highlights
  • Product Samples
  • Small Exhibit Spotlight
  • Program
Resources
  • Registration
Facebook iconInstagram iconTwitter icon
Aug 05, 2021

How to have mindful, effective conversations with patients

Tweak your listening skills to maximize your crucial conversations with patients and colleagues.


Sm21 F008 1526e

Conversations are an essential part of every dermatology practice and everyday life. But in these stressful times brought on by the pandemic, the ever-changing health care environment, and the demands of work/life balance, even simple conversations can turn into crucial turning points in your relationship with patients and colleagues. The difference is, do you leave them feeling unsettled or satisfied?

“Crucial conversations occur in all our day-to-day lives, often spontaneously, with a variety of stakeholders,” said Bethanee Jean Schlosser, MD, PhD, FAAD, director of Thursday’s “Crucial Conversations in Stressful Times” (F008).  “Crucial conversations involve varying opinions, high stakes, and strong emotions. Successfully navigating crucial conversations can positively transform people and their relationships.”

Dr. Schlosser, who is associate medical director of immunology clinical development at AbbVie, led the session with Marsheila DeVan, MBA, founder and “chief velvet hammer” of Elite Communications, with offices in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, and Arroyo Grande, California. DeVan offered strategies and techniques to help navigate the difficult, yet vital, conversations that are a part of daily life.

Dermatologists in clinical practice serve many roles: physician, confidante, manager, leader, adviser, coach, and learner, DeVan said. Being able to successfully navigate crucial conversations with patients and their family members, colleagues, clinical care team members, administrators, and employers offers multiple advantages. Dermatologists can enhance relationships, improve clarity, and better understand their own as well as other perspectives. With practice and mindfulness, they can increase confidence and gain a greater sense of control over decisions that affect their professional and personal journeys.

Delaying or avoiding crucial conversations is not a realistic option, Dr. Schlosser said. Just as navigating crucial conversations brings strategic benefits, avoiding them will have severe consequences that affect every aspect of life. Career, family, and relationships will all suffer if these vital conversations are not faced.

Here are two tips for starting those crucial conversations.

1.    Create an open environment that emphasizes mutual purpose and respect. Speaking persuasively is quite different from speaking abrasively.

“To be a successful communicator, it’s important for people to feel safe talking about almost anything,” Dr. Schlosser said. “There are tools that help people have productive and engaging conversations when the stakes are high.”

2.     Work to improve your listening skills. The ABCs of listening — agree, build, compare — encapsulates a highly effective, tested, and evidence-based approach to becoming a better, more effective listener.

Being an effective listener doesn’t mean not speaking, however. It means taking the time to listen to what the other participants have to say and focusing on their perspectives instead of your own before responding.

In many cases, people simply want to be heard. Offering advice or a response too soon in the conversation can create resistance. A more effective approach is to listen without jumping in or interrupting. When the time comes for a response, start out by pointing out areas of agreement.

Focusing on areas of disagreement simply creates more conflict. Focusing on areas of agreement helps build positive momentum and approaches.

When you do disagree, criticizing or attacking can be counterproductive. Instead, compare ideas and potential solutions. Laying them out side by side can help defuse a stressful situation so participants can focus on resolution instead of conflict.

“Building one or two critical skills can help you have those crucial conversations you might have been avoiding,” Dr. Schlosser said. “Developing rapport, communicating with confidence, listening effectively, understanding the other person’s point of view, and being able to paraphrase can help you clarify what you want to gain from any discussion and come to mutual agreement.”

 

 

Interesting Stories
What makes a biosimilar and an Interchangeable biosimilar different?
Presented by Boehringer Ingelheim
What makes a biosimilar and an Interchangeable biosimilar different?
Advancing Therapeutic Conversations
Presented by AbbVie
Advancing Therapeutic Conversations
Join Us to Learn More About SOTYKTU<sup>TM</sup> (deucravacitinib):
Presented by Bristol Myers Squibb
Join Us to Learn More About SOTYKTUTM (deucravacitinib):
Beyond the Scalp: Deciphering the Complexities of Alopecia Areata...
Presented by Pfizer Inc.
Beyond the Scalp: Deciphering the Complexities of Alopecia Areata...
Prurigo Nodularis and Atopic Dermatitis:
Presented by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Prurigo Nodularis and Atopic Dermatitis:
Residents and Young Physicians: Your Guide to the AAD Annual Meeting
Presented by Neutrogena
Residents and Young Physicians: Your Guide to the AAD Annual Meeting
Janssen-Sponsored Symposium
Presented by Janssen Biotech, Inc.
Janssen-Sponsored Symposium
More in Summer Meeting 2021
Peter Lio, MD, FAAD
Summer Meeting 2021
The secrets of minimizing pain
Aug 11, 2021
Lawrence S. Chan, MD, FAAD
Summer Meeting 2021
Biomedical advancements impact dermatologic diagnosis and treatment
Aug 11, 2021
Todd Schlesinger, MD, FAAD
Summer Meeting 2021
Update on managing advanced skin cancer
Aug 11, 2021
Hensin Tsao, MD, PhD, FAAD
Summer Meeting 2021
HPV vax, psoriasis biologics, and caregiver quality of life highlight FiRST session
Aug 11, 2021
07e
Summer Meeting 2021
Summer Meeting packed a welcome punch
Aug 11, 2021
Mario E. Lacouture, MD, FAAD
Summer Meeting 2021
Oncodermatology takes the stage at Fox Lectureship
Aug 06, 2021
Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH
Summer Meeting 2021
COVID-19: A “predictable surprise”
Aug 06, 2021
Aimee Payne, MD, PhD, FAAD
Summer Meeting 2021
Frost Lectureship traces mPV treatment’s path from lab to clinical trial
Aug 06, 2021
2020 Gold Medal Presentation | Professor R. Rox Anderson, MD (left), Lancer Endowed Chair in Dermatology, Harvard Medical School and Director, Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Mass. General Hospital. 2021 Gold Medal Presentation | Dirk Michael Elston, MD, FAAD (right), Medical University of South Carolina.
Summer Meeting 2021
Two physicians honored with AAD Gold Medal awards
Aug 05, 2021
Alina G. Bridges, DO, FAAD
Summer Meeting 2021
New science, technology, and dedication improve dermatopathology
Aug 05, 2021
Sergey Rekhtman, MD, FAAD, PharmD, MPH, and Sheila Shaigany, MD, FAAD
Summer Meeting 2021
Lessons from COVID-19’s cutaneous manifestations
Aug 05, 2021
Charlene Lam, MD, MPH, FAAD
Summer Meeting 2021
“Uninvite” disaster by planning
Aug 05, 2021
AAD
Facebook iconInstagram iconTwitter icon
© Ascend Media All rights reserved. DermWorld Meeting News Central is a publication of the American Academy of Dermatology.