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Essential
Skin
Proper Patient Communication Techniques
When working, you have to be careful of what you say and how you say it. Some patients are much more sensitive than others, so speaking with a clear and gentle voice is a good idea. There are proper ways to treat patients to avoid unnecessary conflict between patient and worker. Here is a situation and ways to respond to it.
Situation: There is a mole on the patient's arm that is suspected to be the beginning of skin cancer. The patient said that they think a slight change in shape and color has occurred, but they are not 100% sure.
The patient arrives to the appointment in a distressed manner. they are almost crying duet to the fact that they may have a form of cancer. good ways to communicate what the patient needs to know is:
- Use a tone that keeps the atmosphere in
the room calming
- Find ways to calm the patient down, such as practicing breathing techniques
- The percentage of survival for skin cancer patients *when detected early* is about 98%. This is something that may be brought up to let the patient know that, if the dot is skin cancer and since they brought the issue up to you in its 'early stage', the skin cancer would be able to be easily removed. (However, this may not be the most practical decision since you do not want to give them a full sense of false hope)
- Do not create 'noise' in the background of a conversation. The noise I am talking about is the body language and inattention that side- track those involved from the main point of the conversation.
- Let the patient know that stress does not help any part of the treatment and healing process, and remaining calm will help make things more clear for the doctors that want to help. Stress and hyperventilating increase heart rate and breathing, which throw tests that need resting heart/breathing rate off.
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calmness is a feeling that is reoccurring throughout the text, and that is important when meeting with a patient. Workers have all sorts of methods that they use to make sure nothing goes wrong with the patient and the appointment. Patients want to feel like they can be comfortable and be able to explain their concerns without getting teased or insulted. It's their body, and they know that. they don't need someone shaming them.
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