Mar 4, 2022
We all have patients who frustrate us and we consider
“difficult” because they don’t follow the rule book for good
patient behavior. You will never change their behavior but
the good news is that you can actually change the way you think
about difficult patients.
Dr. Joan Naidorf is a board-certified emergency physician and
has practiced for nearly thirty years in the busy emergency
departments of Inova Alexandria Hospital and Fort Belvoir Community
Hospital in Virginia. She recently published a book
entitled Changing How we Think About Difficult Patients: a
Guide for Physicians and Healthcare Professionals, so this is
what we are discussing. We discuss ways to reframe interactions or
change perspectives on patients that cause our blood pressure to
elevate before we even walk in the room. Maybe it is a certain
diagnosis or complaint that does this to us, or a frequent flier
that never seems to get better. Dr. Naidorf gives us some
techniques for grounding our thoughts and helping us empathize
again.
As an author and speaker, she has been sharing important ideas
with students, residents and practicing physicians through various
online and direct engagements. Dr. Naidorf trained at the
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and Einstein Medical
Center in Philadelphia. She was recently appointed to the editorial
advisory board of The DO magazine.