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Upset Patients
(The Mindset)

Micro Series Part 1 of 8 [Adapted from the masterclass Soothing The Upset Patient] That walk down the hall to an upset patient? The dread is real. It's easy to assume they've already decided how they feel about us, but that's where we lose before we even start. The truth is that it's rarely personal, and you're both on the same team. This upSKILL series starts with the mindset shift that turns dread into confidence, before you ever open that door.
   7:15 Watch Time [Week 30 from the Weekly upSKILL series]
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 Real Help 

Solve these 'people problems'

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For upSKILLers:

  • Not knowing what to say when a patient is upset, and you're not sure what the solution is
  • Walking into a room with an upset patient already dreading how it's going to go
  • Assuming an upset patient has already decided how they feel about you and there's nothing you can do
  • Walking in with confidence, knowing you and the patient are on the same team against the problem
  • Remembering that most upset patients aren't upset with you; it's about their perception of the exchange
  • Feeling more objective and less emotionally rattled with upset patients, teammates, or people in your personal life

For Leaders:

  • Team members reacting to complaints with facts and policy before addressing the patient's feelings
  • Inconsistent responses to upset patients depending on who's serving them that day
  • Team members getting defensive or emotional during patient complaints instead of staying objective
  • Losing patients and getting bad reviews because a patient never felt cared for, even when the outcome couldn't change
  • Coaching team members to walk into hard conversations with a same-team mindset instead of dread
  • Retaining more patients and protecting the organization's reputation by helping patients feel cared for, even when unhappy
  • Building a culture where patients feel like the organization is on their team from the very first response
 Data 

It's science

We tend to blame a person's negative behavior on their character, while explaining away our own with the situation, a pattern researchers call the fundamental attribution error.(1)
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That's why an upset patient's tone can feel like a personal attack, or that they're just being difficult, when instead it's usually about their circumstances.
Classic research on group conflict found that introducing a shared goal against a common problem was one of the most effective ways to turn rival groups into teammates.(2)
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Framing the interaction as you and the patient against the problem, instead of you against the patient, creates that same shift.
Research on service failures found that people whose complaints were handled well often became more loyal afterward than people who never had a problem at all.(3)
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How a patient feels cared for in the hard moment can matter more to retention than the outcome itself.
 Note 

From The Experts

"We're on the same side, working together against the problem or perceived problem. That patient doesn't want to feel that way, and we don't want them to feel that way. We're both on the same team."
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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.

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quick bites, by The Patient Whisperers.

Soft skills are people skills

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feel confident in any situation  
stay centered in difficult encounters  

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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) Ross, L. (1977). "The Intuitive Psychologist and His Shortcomings: Distortions in the Attribution Process." Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 173-220. (2) Sherif, M., Harvey, O.J., White, B.J., Hood, W.R., & Sherif, C.W. (1961). Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment. University of Oklahoma Book Exchange. (3) McCollough, M.A., Berry, L.L., & Yadav, M.S. (2000). "An Empirical Investigation of Customer Satisfaction after Service Failure and Recovery." Journal of Service Research, 3(2), 121-137.