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Patient "Mistakes"
(Make Them Positive Moments)

A patient misses a section on their paperwork or sits in the wrong seat and suddenly feels embarrassed. You don't think twice, but fear of the unknown and negativity bias make even small missteps feel uncomfortable to them. Your response decides if the interaction is derailed or recovered. This upSKILL gives simple responses that meet someone in this moment with understanding that feels positive on purpose.
   5:14 Watch Time [Week 65 from the Weekly upSKILL series]
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 Real Help 

Solve these 'people problems'

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For upSKILLers:

  • Patients becoming embarrassed, defensive, or anxious over something you barely noticed
  • Feeling awkward or unsure what to say the moment a patient makes a mistake or has a misstep
  • Feeling a good interaction turn tense because a moment felt like a misstep to the patient and they spiraled
  • Remembering that patients are navigating the unfamiliar, so their mistakes feel much bigger to them than they do to you
  • Knowing exactly how to defuse an awkward moment with empathy and validation instead of ignoring it
  • Bringing that same grace and validation to teammates, family, and friends, not just patients

For Leaders:

  • Patients becoming defensive or anxious in moments that were meant to be routine, simply because a misstep wasn't made positive on purpose
  • Team members unintentionally allowing patients to feel embarrassed or judged after a simple mistake
  • Team members reacting to mistakes transactionally, not because they don't care, but because they're not sure what else to say
  • Coaching team members on a simple habit, Positive On Purpose, that turns a misstep into a moment of trust instead of tension
  • Building a patient experience where awkward moments are met with empathy and reassurance instead of awkwardness
  • Creating a culture where team members extend that same grace to each other, not just to patients
 Data 

It's science

Research on negativity bias shows that we naturally react more strongly to mistakes, uncertainty, and embarrassment than we do to anything positive.(1)
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Even a small patient misstep can trigger shame, anxiety, or defensiveness fast if we're not intentional with how we respond.
Studies on fear of the unknown found that uncertainty is one of the brain's strongest anxiety triggers, significantly increasing our emotional stress response.(2)
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Patients are constantly navigating the unfamiliar, so a simple mistake can feel much bigger to them than it does to us.
Research on emotional validation shows that feeling understood can reduce negative emotional responses, while invalidation can increase psychological and physiological stress.(3)
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A simple validating response can help a patient move from feeling embarrassed or judged toward feeling understood and cared for.
 Note 

From The Experts

"When a patient has this moment with us, it's so important that we make it POP, positive on purpose! We make sure that we help the patient avoid those negative feelings by projecting positive ones so that even in this awkward moment, they can still feel connected, informed, and safe with us."
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- Christine & Lauren, The Patient Whisperers
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 SERIES 

This is adapted from Weekly: Mastering Soft Skills

by The Patient Whisperers:
Soft skills that make work and life better.
For everyone who works with patients - or interacts with humans.

8 minutes each week

quick bites, by The Patient Whisperers.

Soft skills are people skills

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Chu Vision Institute

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 WHO 

Meet the experts

The Patient Whisperers
Christine Scarlett
& Lauren Weaver
Former practice leaders leading change by bringing relational intelligence, soft skills + emotional connection into healthcare as authors, speakers, and upSKILL instructors. 
Get to know them here or connect on social media:
Christine Scarlett
Former CMO
& Director of Patient Experience
From counseling patients, to Director of Patient Experience, to CMO, Christine's worn nearly every 'hat' in a healthcare practice. The driving force? Her love for people... creating exceptional patient experiences and empowering those who serve them.
Lauren Weaver
Former
Director of Brand Development
Bringing her PR, branding, social media influencer status, and love of storytelling with her, Lauren turned how we market and build a brand for ourselves in healthcare upside down by redefining how we connect with our patients, both in practice and online.
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(1) Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). "Bad Is Stronger Than Good." Review of General Psychology, 5(4), 323-370. (2) Carleton, R. N. (2016). "Fear of the Unknown: One Fear to Rule Them All?" Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 41, 5-21. (3) Greville-Harris, M., Hempel, R., Karl, A., Dieppe, P., & Lynch, T. R. (2016). “The Power of Invalidating Communication: Receiving Invalidating Feedback Predicts Threat-Related Emotional, Physiological, and Social Responses.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 35(6), 471–493. DOI: 10.1521/jscp.2016.35.6.471.