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If
You Don't Know All the Answers ...
...
then let your willingness to learn become a powerful tool in your
office.
GARY
GERBER, O.D.
I
don't know," are three very powerful words that can actually instill confidence
in patients when they ask you a clinical question you don't know the answer to.
When followed up with, "I will do some research and get back to you" or "I'll refer
you to Dr. Jones who is a specialist in this area," patients will respect your honesty
and candor for admitting the obvious — that we don't have all the answers.
Rather than guessing or pretending to know the answers, which is readily obvious
to a patient, it is better to acknowledge your limitations and do what's best for
the patient. This seems straightforward. It's the way most of us handle these clinical
encounters.
However, consider
these questions from staff members.
►
"Dr.
Allknowing, Flag Day falls on a Sunday this year and I was wondering if I'll be
paid for that on the following Monday?"
►
Or
perhaps, "Dr. Knowitall, why don't we give patients a credit towards their flat-top
bifocals if they haven't adapted to their progressives?"
Don't fake it
If the answers
to these questions aren't readily available, just as in dealing with patients, it
would be best to not guess or fake an answer.
For the first question, you might say, "Let's go look that one up in our office
policy manual so I can explain it to you." For the second, if the policy was never
well thought out or perhaps needs updating, then you should reply, "You know, we
should revisit that policy during our next staff meeting and have a deeper discussion
about why we do things that way."
Why is this so
important? Because showing staff that you are fallible, human and quite capable
of making mistakes allows them to do the same without fear of retaliation or retribution.
Fostering an office culture of respect and trust often starts by showing subordinates
(staff in this case) that the boss is indeed imperfect and doesn't have all
the answers all the time . . . and is willing to learn them and adapt to change.
I
continually hear from doctors, "Gary, because my staff is on the front lines with
patients all day long, I know they are a great source of new ideas to improve the
service we provide. I'm frustrated
because I'm always asking for their input but they never speak up!"
Invariably, the
staffs in these offices tell our consultants (but never the doctor directly) that
they are afraid to speak up for fear their ideas will be met with "That will never
work here" or perhaps worse, "Great idea" — one that is never implemented.
This
same culture is invaluable when delivering bad news. Consider a staff member who
needs to tell you that because of continual errors made by your eyeglass lab, a
patient just stormed out to the office while you were in the exam room with another
patient.
A tale of two offices
In an office with
poor trust and an unreceptive doctor, the staff member might say, "Mrs. Jones left
because her glasses weren't ready. It was her fault. I told her they wouldn't be
ready today."
In
an office with a doctor who has fostered a culture that invites the airing of complaints,
the staff member would say, without fear of being punished, "We really blew it.
I'm sorry. We didn't have her glasses ready when we promised we would. To avoid
this in the future, we'll be changing the way we notify patients."
It
is crucial to note that in this second explanation, when allowed and encouraged
to do so, that not only has the staff member owned up to the mistake, but she
has volunteered a solution.
DR. GERBER
IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE POWER PRACTICE, A COMPANY
SPECIALIZING IN MAKING OPTOMETRISTS MORE PROFITABLE.
LEARN MORE AT WWW.POWERPRACTICE.COM OR CALL
DR. GERBER AT (800) 867-9303.
Optometric Management, Issue: June 2005