Studer Training

Several months ago, my colleagues and I attended a mandatory meeting with a coach from the Studer Group, a group of physicians that educates other physicians about how to improve patient satisfaction and outcomes. It was four hours of teaching us how to demonstrate empathy toward our patients, ways of going "above and beyond" i.e. sitting down when talking to a patient, touching the patients, communicating, etc. Most of my colleagues thought it was a bunch of baloney; as for me, this was nothing that our med school hadn't already emphasized back in the day. I do try to sit down with my patients whenever I get the chance, I listen to their concerns, and I'm not afraid to lay a hand on their shoulder when they're crying. This I attribute to my med school training, not to the Studer Group.

Imagine my surprise (and dismay) today when the chief medical officer of the hospital poked his head into the physician's dictation room where I was writing my notes and asked if I had time to spare for him and a Studer coach (the same coach from above) to shadow me while I talk to my patients. I haven't had anyone shadow me since I was a med student, and I was sorry to say I couldn't recall much from the Studer training session. The CMO, Studer coach, and I saw 4 patients together: an osteomyelitis case, a chest pain, an A-flutter s/p ablation, and a new ESRD pt. I chose these patients b/c they were pretty straightforward and I had a pretty good relationship with them so the coach could see me at my best. The coach seemed pretty interested in where I trained, and asked where I thought my strengths were. I told him that I take time to listen to my patients, and that I make an effort to develop a relationship or rapport with them while they are under my care. I even gave some props to TCOM by saying our old motto, "Treat the patient, not the disease."

As for criticism, the coach said that I never once sat down while talking to my patients (the other chair was occupied and I didn't want to sit on the patients' beds), and he also commented that I rarely ever smiled. That's nothing new; I know my default facial expression is more of a frown than a smile. Still, I could see his point. One of the nephrologists at our hospital is extremely bubbly and friendly, and just seeing her makes me want to smile. Now I wonder what kind of disservice I've been giving my patients by not smiling when I walk through their door. And as for sitting down to talk to patients, they say sitting down gives patients the impression that our face-to-face time lasts longer than if we spoke with them while standing. That, thankfully, was one tidbit I remembered from the Studer training session, and the coach seemed pleased when I was able to recall it. Overall, he said I was doing pretty well, and that with a bit of tweaking, I can do even better.

Some of my partners wanted to hide when they heard that the Studer coach and CMO were walking around finding people to shadow, but I think everyone's going to get it eventually.