Episode 33: Providing Patient-Centered Care with Students & Observers

Picture this, you’re working with a new student or have someone shadowing you. They are eager to learn about your field and have tons of questions to ask you AND the patient. While you love their desire to learn, it’s also affecting the flow of the session. 

We’ve certainly been there, so in this episode, we dissect why and how having another person in the room affects patient-centered communication and care. This applies to observers, interns, students, mentors, and anyone else who might be a third body in the treatment space. 

We discuss 

• How having an additional person in the room affects the way we providers interact with the patient
• The power dynamics between all three (or more) of you  
• How we can prepare the observer(s) and the patient for this interaction
• The mindset shift that helps us create a collaborative win-win environment for the patient and observers 

Ultimately, when you're the person with the most experience in the room, it really is on you to use that experience to guide the session in a way that everyone wins or at the very least guide in a way where the patient gets what they need.  

Highlights from our conversation in Episode 33

• (0:34) A case example 
• (3:22) How another person affects dynamics between patient-provider 
• (5:44) Preparing students/observers for the visit 
• (8:27) Preparing the patient for the visit 
• (9:28) Getting enthusiastic consent for an additional person
• (13:34) Introducing students & mentors
• (16:32) The patient is #1
• (18:05) How does the dynamic change with 3+ parties in the room?
• (23:46) The benefits of working with interns/students 
• (25:40) Self reflection for clinical instructors/mentors 
• (31:42) Outro

Thank you for listening to The Conscious Clinician. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and write a review for the podcast so we can reach more people!

Resources from Episode 33

• (9:28) FRIES Consent Model in Episode 32: Empowering Folks During Pregnancy, Birth, & Beyond with Dr. Tasha Darden, DPT, Doula

• (26:37, 28:24) Impostor Syndrome in Episode 18: Impostor Syndrome in Healthcare Providers and Episode 24: How to Thrive, Not Just Survive with Yolanda Johnson, MD, FAAP

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