How The Human Connection Improves Healthcare | Anthony Orsini | TEDxGrandCanyonUniversity

Summary

In this moving speech, a doctor recounts a pivotal moment that shifted his view of healthcare from a purely scientific field to one rooted in compassion and human connection. He emphasizes the importance of patient-doctor rapport and trust, which are often overlooked in today's efficiency-driven medical system. The speaker advocates for a return to personalized care, where doctors take the time to know their patients as people, leading to better health outcomes. He also encourages patients to initiate personal conversations with their healthcare providers to foster a more meaningful doctor-patient relationship.

Takeaways

• 👨‍⚕️ The speaker's aspiration to be a doctor was sparked by a fascination with the human body and the life-saving capabilities of medicine.
• 🚑 A critical incident involving a newborn's death shifted the speaker's perspective on healthcare, highlighting the importance of compassion in medicine.
• 😢 The emotional toll of delivering tragic news was profound, even for an admired senior physician, demonstrating the human side of medical practice.
• 📈 Despite advancements in medical technology and procedures, patient satisfaction is often lacking due to a perceived lack of compassion from healthcare providers.
• 📊 Survey results indicated that a significant portion of patients feel rushed during appointments and believe their questions are not fully answered.
• 📉 High rates of professional burnout and suicide among doctors suggest a system that prioritizes tasks over patient care.
• 🤝 The speaker emphasizes that medicine is fundamentally about human interaction and the ability to convey compassion.
• 💡 Building trust with patients starts with being relatable and getting to know them on a personal level.
• 👂 Listening and communication are key to providing good healthcare; doctors should take time to understand their patients.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Patients can help improve their healthcare experience by expecting and fostering personal connections with their healthcare providers.
• 🔙 The speaker calls for a return to a more compassionate and patient-centered approach to healthcare.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial fascination with medicine?

The speaker was fascinated by the human body and the life-saving procedures performed by doctors, which they observed on TV and in movies since they were six years old.

What event during the speaker's medical training changed their perspective on healthcare?

The event that changed the speaker's perspective was the tragic death of a newborn baby and the way the senior physician, Dr. Cunningham, delivered the news to the baby's father.

How did Dr. Cunningham's reaction to the baby's death affect the speaker?

Dr. Cunningham's emotional reaction and his advice to the speaker to never deliver news in such a blunt manner made the speaker realize that medicine is about human interaction and conveying compassion.

What are some statistics mentioned in the script about patient dissatisfaction with healthcare?

71% of patients felt a lack of compassion from their doctor, 73% felt rushed and left with unanswered questions, and 39% had such a bad interaction that they changed providers.

What is the current state of professional burnout among doctors and nurses according to the script?

Professional burnout among doctors and nurses is at an all-time high, with doctors having the highest rate of suicide of any profession.

What does the speaker suggest is the key to improving healthcare?

The speaker suggests that improving healthcare is not about spending more money but rather getting back to what really matters: the human-to-human interaction and compassion in patient-doctor relationships.

How can a medical provider build trust with their patients according to the speaker?

A medical provider can build trust by being relatable, getting to know their patients on a personal level, and building rapport during each interaction.

What advice does the speaker give to doctors who are feeling rushed?

The speaker advises doctors who are feeling rushed to stop, recognize their task-oriented behavior, and take time to get to know their patients to allow natural compassion to flow.

What can patients do to ensure they receive the best healthcare?

Patients can control their healthcare by expecting a personal connection and initiating conversations with their doctors about personal topics to build a trusting relationship.

What is the speaker's mother's advice that he applies to his medical practice?

The speaker's mother advised him to be nice to everyone and get to know them on a personal level, which he interprets as being hard to fire your best friend, implying the importance of building strong relationships.

What is the speaker's vision for the future of healthcare?

The speaker envisions a future where healthcare returns to being about a trusting relationship between two relatable people with the common goal of the patient's health.

Outlines

00:00

🏥 The Turning Point in Medical Practice

The speaker shares their journey from childhood fascination with medicine to a pivotal moment in their medical career. They recount a tragic event in 1996 where they were called to treat a critically ill newborn. Despite their best efforts, the baby passed away. The speaker describes the emotional aftermath, including the senior physician's abrupt and cold delivery of the news to the baby's father, which deeply affected the speaker. This experience led the speaker to understand that medicine is not just about science and technology, but fundamentally about human interaction and compassion. The speaker reflects on the current state of healthcare, noting the high costs and the dissatisfaction of patients, often feeling rushed and lacking compassion from their providers.

05:01

📈 Restoring Compassion in Healthcare

The speaker discusses the current healthcare system's issues, such as increased documentation, electronic medical records, and efficiency demands leading to professional burnout among healthcare providers. They highlight a survey revealing that many patients feel a lack of compassion from their doctors and often leave medical appointments unsatisfied. The speaker emphasizes the importance of building trust and rapport with patients, suggesting that doctors should take the time to get to know their patients on a personal level. They also advise patients on how to engage with their healthcare providers to ensure a more personal and effective healthcare experience. The speaker concludes by urging a return to a more compassionate and patient-centered approach in healthcare.

Keywords

💡Compassion

Compassion refers to a deep awareness of and sympathy for the suffering of others, coupled with a desire to alleviate that suffering. In the video, compassion is a central theme, emphasizing the importance of doctors expressing empathy and understanding towards their patients. The script illustrates this through the narrator's experience with Dr. Cunningham, who despite being a skilled physician, failed to show compassion when delivering tragic news to a patient's father, leading to a negative outcome.

💡Healthcare System

The healthcare system encompasses all organizations, people, and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore, or maintain health. The video script critiques the current state of the healthcare system, suggesting it is 'broken' and has strayed from its core mission of patient care. It points out that despite technological advancements and increased spending, patient satisfaction is not improving, indicating systemic issues.

💡Patient-Doctor Relationship

The patient-doctor relationship is the bond formed between healthcare providers and their patients, which is crucial for effective healthcare delivery. The video stresses the importance of this relationship, arguing that when doctors take the time to connect with patients on a personal level, trust and better health outcomes follow. The script provides an example of how sharing personal stories can enhance this relationship.

💡Burnout

Burnout refers to a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion, often caused by prolonged stress. In the context of the video, burnout is mentioned as a significant issue among healthcare professionals due to increased workloads and the pressure to maximize efficiency. This burnout can lead to decreased quality of care and even high rates of suicide among doctors.

💡Documentation

Documentation in healthcare refers to the process of recording patient information, medical histories, and treatment plans. The script mentions that increased emphasis on documentation, particularly electronic medical records, has led to doctors and nurses being 'task-oriented' rather than 'patient-oriented,' potentially detracting from the quality of patient care.

💡Rapport

Rapport is a harmonious relationship in which people understand each other's feelings or ideas. The video suggests that building rapport with patients is key to establishing trust and delivering better healthcare. It is mentioned that taking a few minutes to get to know patients can lead to stronger doctor-patient relationships.

💡Task-Oriented

Being task-oriented means focusing on completing tasks or duties, often at the expense of personal interactions. The video criticizes this approach in healthcare, arguing that it can lead to a lack of compassion and rushed patient interactions, which are detrimental to patient satisfaction and outcomes.

💡Patient-Oriented

Patient-oriented care is an approach that prioritizes the patient's needs, values, and preferences in healthcare delivery. The video advocates for a return to patient-oriented care, suggesting that when doctors focus on individual patients rather than tasks, they can provide more compassionate and effective care.

💡Communication

Communication in healthcare involves the exchange of information between healthcare providers and patients to ensure understanding and cooperation. The script highlights communication as a critical component of good healthcare, noting that doctors who communicate effectively can build trust and improve patient outcomes.

💡Personal Connection

A personal connection is a bond formed between individuals based on shared experiences or mutual understanding. The video encourages doctors to establish personal connections with patients to enhance the healthcare experience. It suggests that even simple conversations about non-medical topics can help create a more comfortable and effective interaction.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency in healthcare refers to the optimal use of resources to maximize the quality of patient care. However, the video script points out that an overemphasis on efficiency can lead to doctors and nurses feeling rushed and patients feeling unheard, which can negatively impact the quality of care.

Highlights

Aspiring to be a doctor from a young age due to fascination with the human body.

Entering medical school with a deep desire to learn about the science of medicine.

A pivotal experience in 1996 with a critically ill newborn that changed the speaker's perspective on healthcare.

The tragic death of a baby despite all medical efforts.

Learning the importance of delivering tragic news compassionately from Dr. Cunningham.

The realization that medicine is fundamentally about human interaction.

The high costs of healthcare in the United States and the increasing dissatisfaction among patients.

Statistics showing patients often feel a lack of compassion from their doctors.

The impact of feeling rushed during medical consultations on patient satisfaction.

The high rate of doctor-patient turnover due to negative interactions.

The increasing focus on documentation and efficiency over patient care.

Professional burnout among healthcare providers at an all-time high.

The importance of patient-doctor connection for better treatment outcomes.

Advice for doctors to be relatable and build trust with patients.

The significance of personal connection in healthcare as advised by the speaker's mother.

The necessity for doctors to get to know their patients on a personal level.

Encouraging doctors to take time to connect with patients despite feeling rushed.

Patients can control their healthcare by expecting a personal connection.

Suggesting patients share personal information to build rapport with doctors.

The choice to move towards a more personal and trusting healthcare system.

The conclusion that healthcare is most effective when it's about a trusting relationship between two relatable people.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Applause]

i wanted to be a doctor since i was six

years old

the human body fascinated me i watched

in awe

on tv and in the movies as doctors

performed these life-saving procedures

i entered medical school with a deep

desire to learn everything that i could

about the science of medicine

and how the human body worked but then

something happened to me

that made me realize that health care

was really broken

and gave me a new perspective on what

medicine was really about

it was the summer of 1996 i was just

completing my training

when i received a late evening phone

call from a desperate physician

to pick up an extremely sick newborn you

see the baby had a condition and his

only chance of survival

was to be placed on a heart lung bypass

machine immediately

when the team and i arrived we found a

critically ill baby

desperately clinging to life the parents

gave their son a quick kiss on the cheek

and off we went into the ambulance

lights and sirens blasting

by everyone's estimate there wasn't much

time

the ventilator was struggling to keep

the blood oxygenation levels up

and despite everything that we can do

the blood pressure and heart rate

continuously dropped

by the time we got back to my hospital

we were in full resuscitation mode

including cpr

but sadly time ran out and the baby died

it wasn't much after that that the

charred nurse informed me that the

father had followed the ambulance and

was anxiously waiting for me in the

waiting room

completely unaware that his son had just

died

now the senior physician in charge that

night

was someone that i greatly admired let's

for the sake of confidentiality call him

dr cunningham tim as everyone knew him

was the smartest kindest and most

compassionate doctor i had ever known

the kind of doctor that i wanted to be

like someday

i saw that tragedy that night as an

opportunity to learn a life lesson

you see although i was very confident in

my clinical abilities as a doctor

the thought of telling someone tragic

news still scared me to death

i mean how do you tell somebody that

their baby died

i thought who better to learn from than

dr cunningham

so together tim and i walked down the

hallway towards the waiting room we

opened up the door to find a father who

was frantically pacing back

and forth and then what happened next

was and still is decades later

inexplicable to me this kind

compassionate doctor that i had grown to

admire

simply blurted out my name's dr

cunningham

your baby died

well the father he went crazy i remember

he punched a hole in the wall he knocked

the table lamp

over and he made a scream and a sound

that i had never heard before

after a few moments of discussion and

what seemed like hours of crying i took

the father to see his son

i spent a few minutes with him and then

i left him alone

when i walked back out into the hallway

dr cunningham was waiting for me

he grabbed me by my shoulders and he

pulled me in really close

and i can see that there were tears in

his eyes

and he said to me in this quivering firm

voice

do you see what i just did don't ever

do that and he turned around walked down

the hallway onto the fire escape and

spent the next 20 minutes crying

you see i realized that night medicine's

not about science or technology

medicine's not just about how smart or

skilled you are as a physician

it's not even about how kind you are as

a person

at its core medicine is about that human

to human interaction between a patient

and a doctor it's about the ability to

convey your compassion

regardless of whether you're delivering

tragic news or you're meeting a patient

for the first time

but somehow we got away from that in the

united states alone we spend trillions

of dollars each year on health care and

the costs are steadily increasing

advances in medicine have led to

state-of-the-art diagnostic tools

and life-saving procedures and drugs

that were unimaginable just a few

decades ago

yet studies still show that a

significant number of patients

are still unhappy with their medical

provider

in a recent internet survey that we

performed

71 of patients who responded stated that

they often felt a lack of compassion

from their doctor

73 percent stated that they frequently

left the hospital

or doctor's office feeling rushed and

without all their questions being

answered

and an amazing 39 percent stated that

they had such a bad interaction

that it led them to change providers

the system's just not working medicine

has become more and more about increased

documentation electronic medical records

and maximized efficiency doctors and

nurses

are being asked to do more and more work

in less and less time

professional burnout among doctors and

nurses is at an

all-time high and did you know

that doctors now have the highest rate

of suicide of any profession

this has unknowingly and unwillingly

caused us to become task oriented

instead of what we should be

patient oriented the good news is

that together you and i we can begin to

fix health care right now

not by spending loads of money but by

simply getting back

to what really matters did you know that

a patient

who feels a connection with their doctor

even if they met them for the first time

is more likely to take their medicine

more likely to follow up and yes have

better treatment outcomes

that's why a medical provider's ability

to communicate and build trust

is more important than ever so as a

doctor

how do i begin to build that trust well

it starts off by first

being a relatable person and a doctor

second

you know my mother used to say to me all

the time she used to say anthony

it's hard to fire your best friend no

matter how successful i became she'd

constantly remind me she'd say

don't forget it's hard to fire your best

friend

i used to think why is my mother always

so afraid i'm going to get fired

it wasn't until much later that i

realized what she was saying

in her own way my mother was telling me

to be nice to everyone

but more importantly she was telling me

to get to know everyone

not just on a professional basis but on

a personal level as well

it's so important for doctors and nurses

to take just a few minutes to get to

know their patients each and every time

and build rapport

because once rapport is built trust will

follow

systems they're designed for the masses

but medicine only works when doctors can

treat patients

as people one at a time

good health care starts and ends with

good communication

so if you're a doctor and you're feeling

rushed maybe becoming task oriented just

stop

recognize it sit down put your laptop

aside and just

get to know your patient imagine that

you're the patient

put yourself in their shoes and your

natural compassion will just flow

because

once you can connect as two relatable

people

or as my mother would say as best

friends

that's where medicine works its best

now you might be asking what can i do as

a patient to make sure i get the very

best health care

well the most important thing is to know

that your health care is more important

than any system you control your

healthcare because you

can control the conversation it's okay

to expect that personal connection

with every doctor or nurse that you meet

even if you met them for the first time

so here's the secret

next time you go to the doctor or the

hospital unless it's an emergency

don't talk medicine share something

personal first

if your doctor seems preoccupied or

rushed

that's okay ask them how their day's

going

tell them about a recent vacation you

went on and asked them if they've had a

recent one

ask them if they saw the game yesterday

i'll be willing to bet that if you do

that

you'll see your doctor relax perhaps

even smile

once you can connect and build that

commonality

the conversation will go so much better

we have a choice we can continue on this

path

to impersonal health care or we can get

back to what really matters

a trusting relationship between two

relatable people with one goal in mind

your health thank you