How can you improve patient care by understanding physician culture?

As a healthcare professional, you know how important it is to collaborate with physicians to provide the best patient care possible. But sometimes, you may encounter challenges or misunderstandings that affect your relationship with them. How can you improve patient care by understanding physician culture? In this article, you will learn about some of the key aspects of physician culture, how they influence their communication and decision-making styles, and how you can use this knowledge to negotiate and influence them more effectively.

1 The origins of physician culture

Physician culture is the set of values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape how physicians think, act, and interact with others. It is influenced by many factors such as education, training, specialization, experience, and organizational context. While physician culture can vary across different settings, specialties, and regions, there are some common elements that reflect the nature and demands of their profession. These include a strong sense of autonomy and authority; a high level of responsibility and accountability; a competitive and achievement-oriented mindset; and a pragmatic and evidence-based approach. Physicians are trained to be independent and confident in their clinical judgments and actions. They are responsible for the lives and well-being of their patients, often facing ethical, legal, and emotional challenges in their work. They strive to achieve recognition for excellence through a rigorous selection process that rewards intelligence and hard work. Furthermore, they rely on scientific knowledge to guide their decisions while being skeptical of opinions or intuitions not supported by evidence.

Add your perspective

Ahmed El Kady

Director Of Biomedical Engineering Department | Systems and Biomedical Engineering
Report contribution
Physician culture is influenced by biomedical technologies that can enhance or challenge their work. Biomedical engineers need to understand and respect physician culture to collaborate effectively with them.

Like

2 The impact of physician culture on communication

Physician culture has an impact on how physicians communicate with others, particularly with non-physicians. Generally speaking, physicians tend to be direct and concise, using technical language and acronyms that may not be understood by everyone. They are also authoritative and assertive, expressing opinions and recommendations with certainty and expecting them to be accepted without question. Moreover, they are task-oriented and problem-focused, prioritizing facts and solutions over feelings and values. As a result, they may not show much empathy or appreciation for the emotional or personal needs of others.

Add your perspective

3 The implications of physician culture for negotiation and influence

Understanding physician culture can help you negotiate and influence physicians more effectively by adapting your communication and persuasion strategies to their preferences and expectations. Respect their autonomy and authority, demonstrate your competence and credibility, appeal to their responsibility and accountability, address their competitive and achievement-oriented mindset, and adopt a pragmatic and evidence-based approach. These tips can help you do that. Show them that you are not trying to control or dictate them, but rather support and collaborate with them. Provide factual, accurate, and reliable information backed up with evidence, highlight the risks of not following your suggestions or recommendations, use positive or negative incentives to motivate them, show how your proposals or requests are based on scientific knowledge, data, and research, use clear language without ambiguity, vagueness or unnecessary details, and explain any unfamiliar terms or concepts.

Add your perspective

4 The benefits of understanding physician culture for patient care

Understanding physician culture is essential for improving patient care, as it can enhance collaboration and coordination, improve quality and safety, and boost patient satisfaction and experience. Respectful communication and understanding of values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors can foster a positive and productive relationship between you and physicians. Additionally, demonstrating competence and credibility can increase your influence on clinical decisions. Furthermore, addressing the emotional and personal needs of physicians can help them cope with stress and show more empathy to their patients. Learning about the key aspects of physician culture, their communication styles, and how to negotiate with them more effectively is not easy but necessary for improving patient care.

Add your perspective

Ahmed El Kady

Director Of Biomedical Engineering Department | Systems and Biomedical Engineering
Report contribution
Physician culture affects how they use biomedical technologies. Biomedical engineers can improve patient care by understanding, communicating, persuading, and empathizing with physicians. This can help them design and develop technologies that suit physicians’ needs and expectations, and that improve their clinical practices, performance, and empathy.

Like
Shannon P.

Improving patient experiences through education and support Senior Clinical Educator Neurology/Immunology, MSCN, Patient/Provider Engagement, Access/ Reimbursement, End of Life practitioner, Patient Advocacy
Report contribution
Educating the patient on the best way to speak to their provider about their needs is key to having the patient feel satisfied with their care. A patient must be his own advocate, ask specific questions and understand the care plan through the eyes of their provider. Many times I find people are confused or frustrated in dealing with their physicians because they don’t understand the dynamic of an office, the physicians professional style, or how to get the most out of their time with the provider. There are simple things to do with the patient to educate them on such things. Simple coaching goes a long way to building a better provider/ patient dynamic.

Like

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

Dr. Garima Sharma

Personalized Medicine | Digital Health
Report contribution
Understanding physician culture can lead to improved patient care by addressing the unique needs and challenges doctors face. For instance, healthcare organisation can provide resources for work-life balance, such as flexible scheduling or support for child care, reducing burnout and enabling physicians to provide better quality care to their patients.

Like

How can you improve patient care by understanding physician culture?

1

2

3

4

5

1 The origins of physician culture

2 The impact of physician culture on communication

3 The implications of physician culture for negotiation and influence

4 The benefits of understanding physician culture for patient care

5 Here’s what else to consider

Working with Physicians

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Working with Physicians

More relevant reading

How can you improve patient care by understanding physician culture?

1

2

3

4

5

1 The origins of physician culture

2 The impact of physician culture on communication

3 The implications of physician culture for negotiation and influence

4 The benefits of understanding physician culture for patient care

5 Here’s what else to consider

Working with Physicians

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

Explore Other Skills