BEDSIDE

MANNERS

Col Arsalan Bukhari, TI(M)

Associate Professor of Orthopedics , Classified Orthopedic surgeon
HOD Department of Orthopedics
CMH Abbottabad

ARSALAN

DEFINITION
The mannerisms with which a
HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL
handles his / her patient .

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BASICS

A bedside manner refers most often to the way

a medical professional (Doctor/ nurses) interacts
and communicates with patients

Society concern about how the medical

professionals interact with their patients has
increased in the past few years.

Bedside manner directly affects the quality of

care a patient receives
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A PATIENTS FIRST VISIT TO THE HOSPITAL

no idea what kind of doctor/

staff he will come across.

Info from friends or family

members who may have some
prior experience with the
doctor/ hospital staff

However, the patient doesnt

really know or have a feeling
about what the visit will be like
till it happens.
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HOW A HEALTHCARE
PROFESSIONAL IS ASSESSED

From a personal point-of-view, the only

initial way the patient has of evaluating
a new physician / nursing staff is by
his/her bedside manner.

This assessment, by the way, happens

fairly quickly in the encounter probably
within the first 60 seconds.

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FACTUALLY

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BEDSIDE MANNER
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE TOTAL ATTITUDE
OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL
TOWARDS THEIR PATIENTS .

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FACTS TO REMEMBER

Patients feel helpless when they are ill.

They want to feel comfortable with the people

with whom they are entrusting their lives.

They want to feel like someone is on their side

when they are ill.

They need to feel that the person who is

treating them is really concerned about them
and has their best interests at heart.
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TYPES OF BEDSIDE MANNERS

Authoritarian or patronizing
Timid
Confused
Dis interested
Empathetic

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AUTHORITARIAN

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TIMID

Seen in commercial systems and

business outlets
Healthcare professionals are too pleasing
and on patients disposal
Counter productive

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CONFUSED

Poor impression
Acute loss of patient trust
Dissatisfaction

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DIS ORIENTED

Pre occupied
Lack of knowledge
Poor response to patients quarries
Poor PDR

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EMPATHETIC

Caring
Patient focused attention
Knowledgeable
Emotionally intelligent
Max compliance
Best PDR

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IN OUR DAILY PRACTICE

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ARE FOR THE

VISIT

Spend a few minutes reviewing the patient's history

and medical problems before you even enter the room.

Remind yourself about what happened on the last

visit, what tests you ordered, what the results of those
tests are, what prescriptions you wrote, etc.

Patients are impressed if you know what's going on

with them ahead of time without having to look up or ask
for a lot of information about them while you're in the room
with them.

Try to anticipate their questions and how you are going

to answer them before the visit, ARSALAN
especially if the discussion
is going to be about something serious or life changing.

SIMPLE COURTESY

Knock before you enter.

Always be polite and greet with a salaam
Always inquire how the patient is feeling
today.
Extend full attention.
Never be rude or shout.

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GREETINGS

Greeting Say a word or two to the patient

firmly with conviction but with a smile

Nice to see you. Or, How are you?

Never hug or embrace.

A pat on the upper back is okay but never

more than that.
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MAKE EYE CONTACT

Talk to the patient with confident and re assuring

eye contact

Let the patient know that you are there for the sole
purpose of seeing him/her.

. Avoiding eye contact undermines patients trust

If youre not looking at the person when s/he is talking

to you, you will be perceived as not listening, even if
you have heard and digested every single word.
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TALK TO THE PATIENT AND NOT HIS

DOCUMENTS

With documents in every room, there is

a tendency just to go in the room, right
to the documents, and barely glance at
the person whose life you have in your
hands.

Patients notice this

Serious mistake
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LISTEN and ATTEND

Hear the patient out and attend his call

always.
This is what patients complain about most
that their distress calls are not attended in
time.
The patient needs to feel that you
understand
what is going on with them.
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RESPECT

Respect your patient's opinions,

acknowledge his/her beliefs even if you
don't agree.

NEVER be judgmental. Remain openminded.

Never be so entrenched in your own

opinions that you can't allow your self to
see the other side.
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EXAMINE

The patient needs to feel that youre at least

concerned enough about his/her symptoms,
that you will examine the area of complaint,
even if you know youre not going to find
anything.

Mere attending by the doctor/ nursing staff in

the ward many a times pacifies the patient
and lessens their pain and anguish.
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COMMUNICATE

Explain your findings and your diagnosis in

everyday lay terms as much as possible.
Exercise informed consent.

Little or no explanation from doctors is

another big complaint from patients and
families

The worst scenario is an ill informed and/or a

dis interested doctor / nursing staff in the
ward.
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DON'T DISCUSS YOUR OWN

PROBLEMS WITH PATIENTS

Patients have not come to visit you to

discuss your difficulties or limitations.
They have enough of their own. If
you're having a bad day, don't show
tantrums.
It's the mark of being a professional to
surpass your own problems and
difficulties in order to take care of
theirs.
Learn to smile withholding your
tears. This what a doctor is all
about. (Buckman)
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FOLLOW UP

Make sure your patient gets timely follow

up for the problems s/he is facing.

Let him/her know to call back if any

unforeseen difficulties occur between now
and the next visit.

Empathetic care will enormously bolster

your image among patients in the
community

Patients always need a shoulder to lean

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onto.

EPILOGUE

If you have good bedside manner, people will

tell you and compliment you on it.

Lack of good bedside manners in a healthcare

setup completely undermines all the efforts put
into patient care and generates confrontations.

Remember we can improve what we can

improve and what we can improve is
Ourselves.
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TAKE HOME POINT

Religiously observe the bedside manners

otherwise be ready to be sidelined..

A HEALTH CARE PERSON WHO PRACTICES

BED SIDE MANNERS RELIGIOUSLY, IS BETTER
THAN THE PRIEST WHO PRACTICES RELIGION
AT BED SIDE.
( HUTCHISON)

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ARSALAN

BED SIDE MANNERS

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