Some patients are difficult for me. I do not know if I am the problem, or they are the problem. I suspect some patients are difficult for any physician, and others are only difficult for some physicians. This interesting NY Times blog article addresses this issue – When Doctors Find Patients Difficult
But some doctors report more difficulty with patients than others. A study in this week’s Archives of Internal Medicine explores the characteristics of doctors who often complain about their patients. The researchers surveyed 426 physicians from 118 urban and rural clinics in Illinois, Wisconsin and New York. They ranged in age from 29 to 89, 44 percent were women and 22 percent were from a minority or ethnic group.
After asking doctors about their experiences with difficult patients, the researchers focused on the 113 doctors in the group who most frequently reported these “difficult encounters.” Those doctors were more likely to be younger and female. And physicians who reported having more difficult patient encounters were 12 times more likely to report “burnout” than those reporting fewer difficult encounters, the study showed.
The data suggest that some doctors may simply have a shorter fuse when it comes to dealing with a challenging patient. The researchers noted that older, more experienced practitioners are likely better at dealing with unhappy patients and may be less likely to view patient visits as difficult, even when they’re not perfect. While it’s not clear why female doctors are more likely to report difficult patients, other studies have suggested that female doctors have higher rates of burnout.
As I mature, I have much better tolerance for patient demands. Patients seem to view me as a mature physician and thus I more often gain their respect and attention.
I am not surprised that younger physicians have more problems here. We must all make mistakes as we mature as physicians. We should improve our interactive skills and our tolerance with experience and practice.
I do think that younger women physicians have a different challenge than older men. We still have many patients who have biases based on demographics. Women can get a double whammy – men who do not show appropriate respect and women who expect more from a woman physician.
Of course, I have never been a woman physician, so I could be full of …. beans.
I will be interested in a general discussion of difficult physician patient interactions. Of course some patient … well I better not type more about my own challenges.
