The Desimone Levee on the Green River failed and is under repair. The hospital is above the flood zone and currently in no danger of flooding. We evacuated our Time Square and Kent Station Clinics and our Lind Avenue locations. Several locations are experiencing staffing issues due to severe traffic impacts. Impacted patients are being contacted to reschedule appointments. Please be safe, do not drive or walk through standing water, and call 9-1-1 if you need emergency evacuation assistance.
Click here for King County Road Closure Real-time Tracker.
Clinician Tip o' the Month - December 2024
Our patients are our best teachers, if we are open to and aware of their instruction, which may not always be subtle.
Much has been written regarding the value of the clinician sitting down for most of the patient encounter. For starters, it’s respectful. Taking a seat places us at eye level with our patients, rather than hovering over them from a standing position. This not only conveys respect, but also facilitates better eye contact, which in turn promotes more empathetic, focused, and accurate communication. When we meet patients at eye level—facing them and those who accompany them—we’re less likely to miss subtle facial expressions that convey confusion, understanding, or anxiety.
Also, studies confirm that patients perceive we spend statistically significant more time with them when we sit rather than stand. Since time providing care is so often limited because of busy schedules and production pressures, sitting down with our patients is quite an efficient and effective time management strategy.
On a recent morning, I had the pleasure of coaching a relatively new Valley clinician who remained standing as we saw multiple patients together on that morning. Although he was kind, knowledgeable, prepared, and professional with each patient, his posture compromised the quality of communication. I made a mental note to discuss this with him later. We continued rounding, and as sometimes happens, an unexpected teaching moment emerged from outside of ourselves.
Toward the end of our list, we met a lovely patient lying in her hospital bed who was struggling to make eye contact with her doctor because of their height difference. She spoke up and asked if he could step back a bit to make it easier for her to look up at him. In that simple request, she effectively took on my role as a coach, demonstrating firsthand the importance of physically meeting patients where they are.
When we talked about this afterward, the clinician was completely open to the suggestion. He even recalled that one of his mentors used to pull up the wastebasket as a makeshift chair so he could sit down during patient encounters. Sometimes, the simplest adjustments can have a profound impact on how we connect with those we care for.