Episode 15: The Power of Understanding Patient Beliefs with Dr. Mike Nelson, DPT

In this episode, we have the pleasure of interviewing Mike Nelson, DPT about patient-centered care. We’ve both worked with Mike and admire his dedication to building a relationship with patients that helps facilitate change. After reflecting on moments of tough interactions, he began a quest to create more structure in his communication and found motivational interviewing. Since then he’s been passionate about connecting closely, integrating evidence, and sharing a message of hope with his patients. 

Together we unpack buzzwords like: shared decision making, patient-centered care, motivational interviewing, and program adherence. What do these terms mean and how does that sound when we talk with patients?

Mike shares practical answers to burning questions like “How do we respond to high pain catastrophizing” and “How can we help patients change their unhelpful beliefs?” We also debunk the myth of compliance in favor of empathetic listening and replace “I’ve got to fix them” with shared decision-making. You’ll enjoy this episode if you’re interested in understanding your patients on a deeper level! 

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Mike is a clinical director at Agile Physical Therapy and a part-time professor of orthopedics at the UCSF/SFSU DPT program. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the Agile Orthopedic Residency and helps with research and education for PhysioTree. He is passionate about helping bridge the gap between evidence-based medicine and clinical practice. 

Highlights from our conversation with Mike Nelson, DPT

• (0:34) Introducing Mike Nelson, DPT
• (4:09) How & why we need to stratify patients’ risk for disability 
• (9:56) Mike’s entry into motivational interviewing 
• (13:37) Training communication skills and EQ
• (17:28) What is patient-centered communication?
• (21:39) How can we respond better to pain catastrophizing? 
• (25:34) Understanding your patient’s pain belief system 
• (32:59) Improving patient buy-in and adherence
• (40:08) Additional tips for catastrophizing, patient education, & empathy 
• (43:41) Mike’s lightning round

Thank you for listening to The Conscious Clinician. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and write a review for the podcast to grow our community. Keep the conversation going by following The Conscious Clinician on Instagram and Facebook. 

Resources from Episode 15

• (2:10) Mike's app in progress: Physiotree 
• (5:47, 21:44-24:42) Episode 5: Pain Catastrophizing
• (16:39) Nonviolent Communication
• (25:56) The Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM): a dynamic framework for understanding illness self-management (2016)

Let’s Connect!

• Email Mike at mikenelsonpt@gmail.com 
• Connect professionally over LinkedIn with Mike
• Find us on Facebook
• Connect over Instagram @TheConsciousClinician
• Connect professionally over LinkedIn with Sammy & Monika