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Setting Expectations
(What's Next)

Ever explain something and the patient seems lost, or it's like they weren't listening? Or pick up on negative energy before you've even started? When patients don't know what's coming next, their brain shifts into worry mode. Today's all about setting clear expectations, closing that gap, and allowing the patient (or other person) the ability to relax and listen.
   7:35 Watch Time [Week 26 from the Weekly upSKILL series]
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 Real Help 

Solve these 'people problems'

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For upSKILLers:

  • Patients seeming distracted, zoned out, or like they're not listening, even though you explained everything clearly
  • Repeating the same information over and over because a patient "forgot" something you already covered
  • Patients feeling anxious or on edge during wait times or before a procedure, with no idea why
  • Wanting patients to feel calm, confident, and prepared for what's happening in their visit
  • Making your own job easier by getting ahead of questions before patients even have to ask them
  • Bringing this same clarity to teammates and people in your personal life, so nobody is left guessing

For Leaders:

  • Patients leaving reviews or complaints about long waits or feeling "in the dark" during their visit
  • Team members having to repeat the same instructions because a patient's anxiety got in the way of listening
  • Inconsistent introductions and hand-offs that leave patients unsure of what's happening or who's coming next
  • Coaching team members to build a simple expectation-setting habit into every patient interaction
  • Creating a smoother, more predictable patient experience from check-in through hand-off
  • Reducing avoidable frustration and repeat questions by getting ahead of the unknown
 Data 

It's science

In a well-known experiment, people with a 50% chance of receiving a mild shock reported more stress and anxiety than people told they'd receive the shock 100% of the time.(1)
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Not knowing what's coming activates more fear than expecting something difficult.
Research on satisfaction shows it's driven less by the outcome itself and more by how well it matched what we expected going in.(2)
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When our expectations don't match reality, we feel it as disappointment, even when nothing "went wrong."

Stress impairs the part of the brain responsible for attention and focus, so an anxious patient is less able to hear, process, and remember what we tell them, no matter how clearly we say it.(3)
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Anxiety pulls mental resources away from listening and memory. 
 Note 

From The Experts

"We need our patients to be able to really listen, so it works in our favor when we set clear expectations about what's happening next so that it frees up their attention to focus on what's happening now. Like all soft skills, it makes our lives easier."
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- Christine & Lauren, The Patient Whisperers
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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.

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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. 
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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) Grupe, D. W., & Nitschke, J. B. (2013). "Uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety: an integrated neurobiological and psychological perspective." Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(7), 488-501. (2) Oliver, R. L. (1980). "A Cognitive Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction Decisions." Journal of Marketing Research, 17(4), 460-469. (3) Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). "Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function." Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 410-422.