Patients!!

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Just wondering if any one else experiences the same with their patients....
Do you get patients who tell you how to do your job?
For exmaple I had a lady patient in one day who said she was the 'nail police' and was sitting like a hawke to ensure I would cut her toenails straight across. She did not let me cut out her ingrown toenail as I would need to 'cut down the side' and the nail wouldn't be straight across. I did inform this patient of the pros and cons of leaving the ingrown toenail there, but she refused to listen! Considering I had cut it out previously and she hasnt ahd any complaints since!
I had to really control myself in resisting the urge to hand her the clippers and walk out of the room!
Any advice to get around these sorts of patients?

 

Re: Patients

Hi Lauren,

Top tip: http://www.ukgunroom.com/

Then have a nice cuppa T & a cake.

Love em?

Hate em?

They pay the bills............

 

Re: Patients

Twirly,

What are you suggesting?:butcher:

A simple go forth and multiply and bore and frustrate another practitioner to death should do it.

No practice is that broke that they need idiots like this.:deadhorse:

I once asked somebody like this why they did not do it themsleves, and why did they insist on bothering me about aomething i was so inadequately trained to deal with.:deadhorse:

Two weeks ago a pt and HER SON spent 20 mins informing me of their displeasure with me my colleagues and Uncle Tom Cobbly and all.

Said they would go elsewhere to a more professional practice etc etc.

Half hour later phoned back to continue the abuse to the secretarial staff. Asked for everybody's name s etc etc.

Today phoined up to make another appt for MUM:craig:

They were surprised to be advised NO.

Then they were reminded of their recent conduct and the reason for no further appts.

They were surprised we refused them an appt.

regards David going bonkers ever so slowly

 

Re: Patients

Hi Dave

Exactly this

NB: Change 'baby' for 'Podiatrist'.

Love & hugs to all. :empathy:

 

Re: Patients

I have also had patients doing this, it seems to be more common in the summer when people are wearing sandals and their toes are on show more. I work in the NHS and people assume that because they are getting the treatment for free they can moan more.

I once asked a patient, like David did, why they did not cut their nails themself if they could do a much better job and they replied that it was free and they were entitled to have it done.

Some people you cannot win with no matter what you do so the best way is to just say nothing, do the job and get them out as quickly as you can. As Twirly says, they do pay the bills!

 

Re: Patients

Let these persons go elsewhere!

I had a patient that sat on the treatment couch and then gave me one very strange look as she looked around the surgery. She was looking for a foot bath and told me that I could not do a complete job with the hard skin unless I gave a foot bath!

I also used a Dia Twister to smoothen skin with. She said to me, "when are you going to sand them off." I informed her that I had done. She said to me that i had not. I showed her the tool that I had used and told her that it did the same job as the traditional sanding discs. She still was not satisfied!

I heard another chiropodist being bad mouthed for not being thorough. Why you ask. because he did not give 2 mins of moisturising.

Ignore these patients and keep the ones that appreciate good service.

 

Re: Patients

That is all well and good if you have a large successfull practice but if you are smaller, have lots of competition or just recently opened then wouldn't it be better to keep these patients and make them as happy as possible? A few comments/moans from these people may put off a lot of new potential patients.

You never know, by treating them your way and always smiling they may slowly come round to your way of thinking and not be so argumentative/miserable/moany etc

 

Re: Patients

Generally i have found that most pts select a Pod whose personality they are comfortable with. This is in addition to ones clinical skills.

Trouble is is that there are many who chose a personality they do not BOND TO. This always leads to personality clashes imho.:bang:

So if you have a pt who obviously dislikes you then it is in everyones interest that they see another Pod as any problems will be major as they already do not like you.

This is Regardless of your skills.

If someone appears to be unhappy with what i am doing i ALWAYS ASK what it is that i am doing that is the problem? This expression of concern and interest in their t/t usually helps in endearing the pt to you.

Not Always though.

Also there are many out there who are NEVER HAPPY unless they are displeased with the person doing something for them. This is ALWAYS a reflection of their personality.

So i humbly suggets that the better part of valour is cowardice and suggesting they see another practitioner who is more suited to their demeanour.

regards David:drinks

 

Re: Patients

Birds of a feather flock together, If you have a reasonably minded practitioner, most of the pts will be the same. An oddball practitioner would probably have their fair share of crackerjacks on the books.
The problems tend to occur when the pts cross the wrong path onto the practitioner which doesn't suit their own mentality.

I told a pt last week to find someone else as she previously chastised me 8 weeks after her Rx for her sore toe (due to wearing inapt footwear).

No-one needs idiots in their practice, too much stress and hassle for a bit of cash!

 

Dont tell them to find someone else, they may go to a good friend of yours, you wouldnt want that would you?

Look up and give them the phone number and name of a "very good" pod that isnt your good friend

 

My patients recently completed a patient survey from the high risk foot clinic I run at the hospital, out of the hundred patients polled I still had 3 that complained I did not finish their limb saving treatment ( ie not a nice pedicure) with a foot massage!!!! Go figure

 

Dealing with the public will always pose challenges. I recently had an elderly gent who brought his elderly dog into my surgery with him "for the company". Young parents have brought not only their own unruly children with them, but also the neighbour's children who they were minding - the resulting wrestling match on the waiting room floor was diverting! The lady who was not tipsy so much as ossified, and who continued to tell me of her alcohol problems during treatment. The patients who believe absolutely that a "V" cut into the leading edge of the hallux nail prevents IGTN; surely then a "W" would be twice as effective? You can do your best for some but not all; we all have limits of tolerance and patience with "difficult" patients - its up to eachof us to decide when enough is enough.

 

Must remember that one.

 

maybe we should patent Pod Arena "Pinking Nippers", that would solve every OC in the book

 

It's reading threads like this that I'm reminded why I am a happy retired Podiatrist!

 

Grrr.. reading all of this gets me sooo mad! I work for the NHS, I seldom get the respect for the professional I am. If I were a dentist would these people tell me how to extract a tooth?

Oh don't get me started! I especially get annoyed at the domicillary patients who refuse come to the clinic because they have to pay for a taxi!.... Or the patient that is housebound through the week but then goes to the pub for an hour at the weekend!

God give me strength! :-/

 

I try and be patient with patients, knowing sometimes there are things going behind the scenes that make them irritable, like death and illness and divorce, and if I treat them poorly then I feel ashamed after - and rightly so. But, sometimes, none of that matters and you just have to fire the patient when they either abuse office personnel or miss too many appointments without notice.

If they want their toenails trimmed straight, fine, as it saves me time. Foot massage? Not covered by insurance in USA and if they would like to pay a ridiculous amount for that, I would be happy to, just as routine trimming of corns is not covered and I charge an extra office visit amount that they personally have to pay on top of the covered charge.

Challenging patients need care, too, as long as they do not drive us too crazy. Then, it is just not worth it and I will tell them there is nothing more I can do and I refer them out. I may say, that they need a new set of eyes to evaluate them, because I just don't see what is wrong.

The hardest challenging patients are often the mentally challenged ones. I try and be extra patient with them and may not debride as much as ought, just so they can learn that I am their friend and not out to torture them. They have been through a lot over the years and have had to endure a lot of physicians who really do not care. The elderly dementia patients may even require sedation by the physicians prior to treatment, but most times with these patients I have to remember they are motivated by irrational fear and if I can simply assuage that, we can both get through the visit for the better. A panic attack of your own once in life can make you a lot more sympathetic to others' fear.

But, lots of times, years later I see the routine difficult patients come back, but with different attitudes when they ask if I will see them, again. We have a "come to Jesus" discussion and I explain what it will take to reestablish a relationship, and most times, they end up being fine. The years let me mellow toward them and give them another chance.

 

Rick K...you sound like a lovely guy and an excellent podiatrist. Thank you for sharing your advice and experiences with us! I for one will take on board what you have said.

 

Re: Patients

Quite right too! Over the eons I have advised Pt's to seek Tx elsewhere after similar episodes, and the look of abject shock and confusion is always present. They cannot conceive of why a practitioner would not want to treat them!

One lady springs to mind, she would attend annually with a myriad of primary care problems - none critical in themselves, but cumulatively it took a much longer than usual time to treat. Then she would return about one week later complaining that I had not done a thorough enough treatment, so muggins here would fit her in for a free review in the interests of Pt satisfaction. Silly me took about 3 years (3 appointments) to work out her 'game' of getting 12 months of treatment in 2 visits for the price of 1 appointment even though she had full insurance coverage :craig:

Like Davo...the response of complete and utter shock and the look on her face when I advised her of the 'game', and that I would not be willing to Tx her no matter if she wanted more regular appointments, was priceless. She honestly could not fathom what was wrong with her behavior, nor why a professional would turn her away.

When I have told other Pods, more often than not, the Pod looks askew at me as if I am the one with the problem...as if we swear an oath to be doormats!


My 2 cents anyway!

 

I know your pain.

unfortunetly not everyone wants the same things, some like their coffee black as death and other like it weak and milky. The same goes for podiatry treatments, not eveyone wants the same thing. Identifying those who want a cosmetic treatment and referring them on to a beuty therapist will be your best bet. Those who seek health care, injury management plus those who are just generally gratefull that you have made an attempt to help them in an area most others ignore will obvisouly respond better and be more satisfying pt's.

Steve