Clinician Tip o' the Month - August 2024

To Share or Not to Share: That Is the Question

As clinicians, we have been taught to avoid sharing any of our personal information with our patients. To clarify, I’m referring to personal, not private, information. This topic often comes up in my coaching interactions. There is hesitation and indecision about sharing any personal information with patients.

Initially, I did not typically share much about myself or my family. However, while coaching, I observed some clinicians sharing their experiences with similar medical conditions to those of their patients. At first, I felt uncomfortable hearing this. However, patients consistently responded positively! They expressed appreciation for the information and felt that the clinician could empathize with their symptoms. Moreover, it seemed to enhance their confidence in the collaborative treatment plan.

Of course, it's not often that a clinician and patient share a common diagnosis. Moreover, one may not feel comfortable sharing such personal information. I suggest that sharing about more general topics can likely result in the same benefits for both patient and clinician. For example, many of our newer clinicians have relocated here from different parts of the country. Sharing this with our patients can be wonderful. Often, a connection forms simply based on common areas of residence!

I have one patient I have seen for several years; we discovered that we both have family in Chicago, and one of her sons attended university in Philadelphia, where I did my residency! This personal connection did not interfere with the purpose of the medical visit nor change our roles. On the contrary, she shared more relevant information with me about her more sensitive medical conditions, and I felt more comfortable exploring relevant issues surrounding mental health and the appropriate use of opiates.

When patients see us as dedicated and caring individuals with similar human experiences, their trust in us is enhanced. This has been shown to result in better communication between clinicians and patients, leading to improved compliance and clinical outcomes.

I believe it also results in more satisfaction for us as clinicians. What do you think?