Becker's Hospital Review

72 CMO / CARE DELIVERY The Most Crucial Aspect of Patient Interactions Physicians Often Miss By Mackenzie Bean T he success of modern medicine greatly relies on physicians' ability to genu- inely listen to patients. However, some physicians believe genuine conversation with patients is no longer realistic given the size of their workload, among other factors. Rana Awdish, MD, medical director of care experience for Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, and Leonard Berry, a health services researcher and professor of market- ing at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School in College Station, shared three rea- sons physicians should slow down and active- ly listen to patients in a recent article for Har- vard Business Review. 1. Active listening builds a strong pa- tient-clinician relationship. Physicians can build trust with their patients by prac- ticing good listening skills and engaging in shared decision-making regarding treatment options. "A doctor's medical toolbox and sup- ply of best-practice guidelines, ample as they are, do not address a patient's fears, grief over a diagnosis, practical issues of access to care, or reliability of their social support system," the authors wrote. "Overlooking these reali- ties is perilous, both for the patient's well-be- ing and for efficient delivery of care." 2. Rushed patient encounters have consequences. Physicians are more likely to offer ineffective treatment and overlook valuable information when hurrying through a patient interaction. is behavior also re- duces the joy of serving patients, which can contribute to physician burnout. 3. Physicians and patients play des- ignated roles that hinder communi- cation. e typical roles physicians and pa- tients learn to play during an encounter also inhibit communication. Physicians learn to keep an even temperament and not grow too emotionally invested in patients. Meanwhile, patients ask few questions and usually defer to the expert. "When doctor and patient join forces, the team dynamic dismantles the harmful hier- archy. Both members of the dyad can rely on each other because neither owns all the data that matter," the authors wrote. n Chicagoland's Ever- Growing DuPage Medical Group Launches Resident Recruitment Program By Alyssa Rege D owners Grove, Ill.-based DuPage Medical Group signed the first individual to its recruitment ini- tiative, DMG Catalyst Program, Sept. 25. Through the Catalyst Program, seven individuals in their last year of residency will have the opportunity to commit early to practicing at DMG once they com- plete their education. Residents will also receive a sti- pend in their final year of residency. Program participants will have access to continuing medical education opportunities and maintain ac- cess to a mentor throughout their final year of resi- dency. Charles R. Schwartz, MD, was the first individual to join the initiative. He is set to complete his residen- cy at Chicago-based Rush University in 2018. Upon completion, he will join DMG's internal medicine practice in Lombard, Ill. DMG also acquired six physicians Sept. 25 from var- ious Illinois physician practices, including Orland Park, Ill.-based Family Practice Healthcare and Morris, Ill.-based Elite Gynecology, among others. n Merritt Hawkins: 50% of Final-Year Medical Residents Received 100+ Job Solicitations During Training By Alia Paavola A pproximately 50 percent of medical residents received more than 100 job solicitations during their final year of training, according survey findings published by Merritt Hawkins. The report, titled "2017 Survey of Final-Year Medical Residents," presents online survey responses from 935 final-year medical residents. Here are six key findings. 1. Seventy percent of residents received 51-plus job solicita- tions from recruiters during their final year of training in 2017, which is an increase of 7 percent since 2014. 2. Half of final-year medical residents received over 100 job solicitations. 3. Over half (55 percent) of primary care residents received 100 or more job solicitations during their last year of training. 4. A majority (78 percent) of medical residents expect to make at least $176,000 their first year post residency. 5. The biggest concern for residents was "availability of free time" as they enter the medical field. 6. Approximately one in five residents (22 percent) would choose a different job if they could have a reset button. n

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