Diego: This is excellent work! The majority of my work is in patient-centered health care, and this study adds great evidence of what we've been hearing in the field for years. Please do work to get this published! When you do, however, it's important that you raise in the discussion the need to resolve the problems that keep clinicians from developing and employing these skills -- clinical workflows that don't allow adequate time for patients and providers to discuss emotional aspects of the diagnosis or treatment, and (more significantly), the challenge of acknowledging/empathizing patient emotions without letting them adversely affect critical care decisions. I would love to work with you on a follow up study where specific narratives of patients are collected and analyzed to determine how emotional sensitivity to patients is balanced with evidence-based decision-making. I know there are examples of providers who get it right (and a ton who get it wrong!).
Tom, Thank you so much! Raising this issues is only half the battle, as it's critical to reflect on the issues that inhibit providers from enacting accommodative behaviors. I believe this is partially due to the rapid nature of personal consultations, which often prioritizes seeing as many people as possible over establishing quality relationships. As a Pre-Med student myself, I am very interested in how prospective doctors can incorporate social science methodology to better relate to their patients. I would love to work with you on this topic. My phone number is 402-718-5842 and my email is diegotrejo01@gmail.com. Thank you again and take care.
Diego: Outstanding research idea. As one who is over the age of 60, you have succeeding in prompting lots of questions for me. If you are thinking of continuing this line of research (sure hope you are in the future), I am curious if an analysis of separate demographics might yield different results or if the specific emotional/psychological needs might be articulated/identified differently at different life spans. An important aspect of potential contribution also exists in devising applied research in the form of how might clinical workers be better prepared to recognize and provide emotional/psychological care (support). [This is Mary Gill, Director of M.A. in Org Leadership at Buena Vista University]
Mary, Thank you so much! You bring up very promising future directions that future studies can explore. I like to believe that the root issue is a lack of knowledge rather that medical providers intentionally turning a blind eye to specific emotional and psychological needs. Incorporating a formal sensitivity training may be able to address this, but there could be other ways to convey this knowledge to clinical workers. Thank you again for your feedback!
Diego, this is a GREAT study-- If interested, you could easily expand this line of research by asking what conditions people are seeking treatment for, how long they've had those conditions, how much their symptoms affect their daily life, how much support they get at home, etc.
This is also a really lovely poster (And trust me, I've seen plenty). Such a tidy and organized way to present your findings. Of course, I'd expect nothing less from you! Awesome job.
Heather, Thank you for your kind words! That would be a super interesting adaptation to make, as patients with more imposing symptoms/more taxing conditions may expect more from their PCP. Taking your Health Comm class my sophomore year was critical in supplementing my interest in this topic. My friend Krishti and I still speak fondly about our experience in that class and how much we learned. Thank you again and take care.
Diego -- Great job! I wonder how electronic health records influence some of the results too, particularly those related to emotional needs in patient-provider relationships. So many providers are typing data into a computer while interacting with patients; do you think that may impact any results here?
Janell, I'm so glad you brought this up because exploring EHR's was actually my original idea for this project! The original slogan was "Digital Danger: Technology’s Impact on the Quality of Patient-Provider Interactions." Many providers have reported frustrations with having to simultaneously listen to their patients speak and fill out paperwork. A 2006 journal by Margalit et al. reported that physicians spend about a-quarter of the visit time looking at their screen, and in some cases, up to 42%. Patients often interpret their doctor's prolonged screen gaze as decreased emotional responsiveness, which can place a significant barrier on the patient-provider relationship. It is a difficult scenario where doctors find themselves sacrificing the quality of their patient engagement to keep up with the administrative constrains of our health care system.
Diego - I really like the concept you're driving with this research topic! The summary made me think, and also raised some additional questions. First - did you have a specific type of provider that was targeted by your research (i.e. mental health providers) or did you have a variety of providers involved (i.e. General Practitioners, oncologists, dentists, etc.)? I'd be interested to know if there are different results based on the type of provider, and/or based on age ranges of respondents. I know as I've visited different providers, at different times of my life, I've had different expectations of the interactions. It would be interesting to further extrapolate your findings, and/or provide a bit more info in your summary that might answer these questions. Great work on this!
Lisa, Thank you for taking an interest in my project! I did not ask respondents to consider a specific type of provider in the survey. Many interpreted the question in reference to their physician as anticipated; however, several participants noted their satisfaction with their psychiatrists's willingness to listen to them. I would anticipate that providers whose profession emphasizes empathy and relatability will report higher satisfaction from their patients compared to more straight-forward avenues of medicine like oncology. It would be interesting to craft a future study that stratifies patient experiences by provider type to see if this hypothesis holds true. I would love to do a future study of how age influences what patients seek in their doctors. A key limitation to this study was that the overwhelming number of participants were 18-24. I would like to expand the age range of participants to see if the behaviors sought after in doctors are consistent through several age groups. Thank you again for your feedback!
Hi Diego, I love that this study is intended to bridge the gap between patients and health care providers by considering their communication preferences. I could easily see these results serving as the foundation for provider communication in medical school. Well done!
Diego, I really appreciate seeing you respond to the comments! Dr. Braithwaite, Department Chair. these are all comments from wonderful PhD alumni from our department.
Hi Diego, I used to TA for this course in 2013 & 2014 and advised the quantitative and qualitative projects. Your study lies outside of my wheelhouse so I am not able to provide much feedback in that capacity. Sorry. But what I can say is that is no small feat to complete a human subjects research study period, let alone doing it in the course of a semester. But, wow, what you have done with sample size, research design/question, and methodology is impressive under normal circumstances, but knowing that you completed this while campus was shut down is nothing short of incredible. GBR! Sara Baker Bailey c/o 2014
Diego: This is excellent work! The majority of my work is in patient-centered health care, and this study adds great evidence of what we've been hearing in the field for years. Please do work to get this published! When you do, however, it's important that you raise in the discussion the need to resolve the problems that keep clinicians from developing and employing these skills -- clinical workflows that don't allow adequate time for patients and providers to discuss emotional aspects of the diagnosis or treatment, and (more significantly), the challenge of acknowledging/empathizing patient emotions without letting them adversely affect critical care decisions. I would love to work with you on a follow up study where specific narratives of patients are collected and analyzed to determine how emotional sensitivity to patients is balanced with evidence-based decision-making. I know there are examples of providers who get it right (and a ton who get it wrong!).
ReplyDeleteSorry -- thought it would say who the comment is from! This is Tom Workman, American Institutes for Research Class of 2001
DeleteTom,
DeleteThank you so much! Raising this issues is only half the battle, as it's critical to reflect on the issues that inhibit providers from enacting accommodative behaviors. I believe this is partially due to the rapid nature of personal consultations, which often prioritizes seeing as many people as possible over establishing quality relationships.
As a Pre-Med student myself, I am very interested in how prospective doctors can incorporate social science methodology to better relate to their patients. I would love to work with you on this topic. My phone number is 402-718-5842 and my email is diegotrejo01@gmail.com. Thank you again and take care.
Diego: Outstanding research idea. As one who is over the age of 60, you have succeeding in prompting lots of questions for me. If you are thinking of continuing this line of research (sure hope you are in the future), I am curious if an analysis of separate demographics might yield different results or if the specific emotional/psychological needs might be articulated/identified differently at different life spans. An important aspect of potential contribution also exists in devising applied research in the form of how might clinical workers be better prepared to recognize and provide emotional/psychological care (support). [This is Mary Gill, Director of M.A. in Org Leadership at Buena Vista University]
ReplyDeleteMary,
DeleteThank you so much! You bring up very promising future directions that future studies can explore. I like to believe that the root issue is a lack of knowledge rather that medical providers intentionally turning a blind eye to specific emotional and psychological needs. Incorporating a formal sensitivity training may be able to address this, but there could be other ways to convey this knowledge to clinical workers. Thank you again for your feedback!
Diego, this is a GREAT study-- If interested, you could easily expand this line of research by asking what conditions people are seeking treatment for, how long they've had those conditions, how much their symptoms affect their daily life, how much support they get at home, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis is also a really lovely poster (And trust me, I've seen plenty). Such a tidy and organized way to present your findings. Of course, I'd expect nothing less from you! Awesome job.
Heather,
DeleteThank you for your kind words! That would be a super interesting adaptation to make, as patients with more imposing symptoms/more taxing conditions may expect more from their PCP.
Taking your Health Comm class my sophomore year was critical in supplementing my interest in this topic. My friend Krishti and I still speak fondly about our experience in that class and how much we learned. Thank you again and take care.
Diego -- Great job! I wonder how electronic health records influence some of the results too, particularly those related to emotional needs in patient-provider relationships. So many providers are typing data into a computer while interacting with patients; do you think that may impact any results here?
ReplyDeleteJanell,
DeleteI'm so glad you brought this up because exploring EHR's was actually my original idea for this project! The original slogan was "Digital Danger: Technology’s Impact on the Quality of Patient-Provider Interactions." Many providers have reported frustrations with having to simultaneously listen to their patients speak and fill out paperwork. A 2006 journal by Margalit et al. reported that physicians spend about a-quarter of the visit time looking at their screen, and in some cases, up to 42%. Patients often interpret their doctor's prolonged screen gaze as decreased emotional responsiveness, which can place a significant barrier on the patient-provider relationship. It is a difficult scenario where doctors find themselves sacrificing the quality of their patient engagement to keep up with the administrative constrains of our health care system.
Diego - I really like the concept you're driving with this research topic! The summary made me think, and also raised some additional questions. First - did you have a specific type of provider that was targeted by your research (i.e. mental health providers) or did you have a variety of providers involved (i.e. General Practitioners, oncologists, dentists, etc.)? I'd be interested to know if there are different results based on the type of provider, and/or based on age ranges of respondents. I know as I've visited different providers, at different times of my life, I've had different expectations of the interactions. It would be interesting to further extrapolate your findings, and/or provide a bit more info in your summary that might answer these questions. Great work on this!
ReplyDeleteLisa,
DeleteThank you for taking an interest in my project! I did not ask respondents to consider a specific type of provider in the survey. Many interpreted the question in reference to their physician as anticipated; however, several participants noted their satisfaction with their psychiatrists's willingness to listen to them. I would anticipate that providers whose profession emphasizes empathy and relatability will report higher satisfaction from their patients compared to more straight-forward avenues of medicine like oncology. It would be interesting to craft a future study that stratifies patient experiences by provider type to see if this hypothesis holds true.
I would love to do a future study of how age influences what patients seek in their doctors. A key limitation to this study was that the overwhelming number of participants were 18-24. I would like to expand the age range of participants to see if the behaviors sought after in doctors are consistent through several age groups. Thank you again for your feedback!
Hi Diego, I love that this study is intended to bridge the gap between patients and health care providers by considering their communication preferences. I could easily see these results serving as the foundation for provider communication in medical school. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteDiego, I really appreciate seeing you respond to the comments! Dr. Braithwaite, Department Chair. these are all comments from wonderful PhD alumni from our department.
ReplyDeleteHi Diego,
ReplyDeleteI used to TA for this course in 2013 & 2014 and advised the quantitative and qualitative projects. Your study lies outside of my wheelhouse so I am not able to provide much feedback in that capacity. Sorry. But what I can say is that is no small feat to complete a human subjects research study period, let alone doing it in the course of a semester. But, wow, what you have done with sample size, research design/question, and methodology is impressive under normal circumstances, but knowing that you completed this while campus was shut down is nothing short of incredible.
GBR!
Sara Baker Bailey
c/o 2014