Imagine the very fact that the patient has come to the surgeon is because of the feeling of ‘Trust’ that he has on him. And so the duty of the surgeon is to connect, interact and explain in detail the possible outcome of the surgery that would result in keeping the expectation level of the patient at ground level, meaning ‘realistic level’!
There are several instances when the counselors, in the interest of finalizing the treatment, give false assurances about the outcome of treatment. These counselors are usually the enthusiastic lot who constantly crave for appreciation from superiors on the ground of maximum conversions. To avoid such a situation, it is important that the surgeon educate and keep the counselor updated about the latest developments in one’s industry and practice. It is also mandatory that the final outcome is personally discussed with the patient apart from taking written consent across the table.
Having said that, discontentment from the patient’s side is not yet discussed. Surgeons need to realize that the treatment does not end as soon as an uneventful surgery is complete. Ideally, a post-operative interaction about the actual results needs to be demonstrated and discussed in a simple language in which the patient would grasp and more importantly believe & agree.
Now, what if the patient had come to an agreement to undergo surgery only after careful thought about the possible outcome, yet is dissatisfied following surgery? This is a tricky situation. This is when the clinicians should not run and hide! At this stage, all that the patient wishes is to see the surgeon’s smiling face and reassurance, that as a surgeon, he is pleased that he was indeed able to save him from further damage!
Psychologically the patient has every right to feel dissatisfied following surgery, in spite of elaborate discussions prior to surgery. However, it is not acceptable by the patient if the surgeon criticizes him for being so. Apart from the clinical outcome of surgery the patient equally expects emotional support from his surgeon.
In my opinion, the all-time successful surgeons with booming practice are those who can balance promise and delivery of results to their patients. They are the ones who ‘under-promise’ and ‘over-deliver’ and even if they don’t, they can reach their patients with their hearts!
