We all know what engagement looks like. Patients are alert, awake, tuned in. They sit forward. Nod their heads. Make a comment. Ask a question. We know engagement when we see it. And we also know when someone is not engaged. But what can we do about it?
In education engagement is described as “when the student is working at least as hard as the teacher.” In your typical conversations with patients, who is doing most of the work?
Think about engagement with patients as similar to riding a bike. If the gears on the bike are not engaged, you are going nowhere. Even if you pedal harder and faster, without engagement there is no forward movement. It makes sense to stop pedaling. Stop giving information to patients who are not showing interest.
We have important information to share with our patients about the conditions present in their mouths and about the treatment we think is best for them. We have a responsibility to apprise them of what we see and what choices they have about how to manage it. But continuing to give information to someone who is not engaged, is a waste of time.
Stop pedaling. Re-engage.
There are three primary ways in which you can engage with your patients:
Verbal Engagement: Asking questions as you go through your exam invites engagement. “I see your wisdom teeth are missing. Did you have them removed?” Asking simple questions during an exam invites patients to join you in the process. It lets them know their input is welcome. It tells them they have a part to play in making decisions about their health.
Mental Engagement: Any question we ask patients has the potential to get them thinking about their health, which is exactly the frame of mind we want them to be in. “What do you do to keep yourself healthy?” “What do you remember about how you came to need that root canal?” “What are you hoping for today?”
Physical Engagement: Inviting patients to see what you see, as you see it, is a powerful learning tool. Dental photography has changed the way patients experience their mouths dramatically. Pair that with having them look in a mirror. Guide them to touch a tooth or muscle. Ask them to listen to the way an instrument slides over a restoration. Every time you invite them to take some action you layer more and more sensory information without lecturing. That type of physical engagement takes their learning to a deeper level.
Emotional Engagement. When someone is connected emotionally to information, they are likely to be engaged. Acknowledge emotion if you see it. “You seem surprised.” Leave space for a conversation. If the picture the person had of his/her health does not match what you found together you might say, “This must be hard for you to hear.” At any point in an exam you can ask a simple question, “What is coming up for you as you hear me describe these conditions?” If you can connect with their emotional response to learning about conditions, they can connect.
These are just a few tools of engagement. (Click here to learn more https://maryosborne.com/workshops/step-by-step/ ) There are so many ways to activate your patients’ curiosity and willingness to learn. To get past their lack of connection to what is going on in their mouths. To help them become curious about how you can help them.
We do have important information to share with our patients about what we discover. It is not fun to offer that information to someone not interested in hearing it. How would your practice be different if your patients routinely asked the question we all want to hear: “So, what can we do about that, doctor?”
Leave a Reply