ASGE Annual GI Advanced Practice Provider Course (Virtual) - Onboarding (Day One) | March 2025-Managing the Challenging Patient

Pdf Summary

The document titled "Managing Challenging Patients" by Jill Olmstead outlines strategies for healthcare providers to address patient dissatisfaction, deescalate angry patients, and reduce provider burnout. Olmstead identifies systemic, provider, and patient factors contributing to challenges in healthcare such as long wait times, insufficient communication skills among providers, and unmet patient expectations.<br /><br />A significant portion of the text is dedicated to identifying burnout as a major issue affecting healthcare providers, with statistics indicating that 50% of physicians and 25% of advanced practice providers experience burnout. Factors driving burnout include heavy workloads, lack of resources, and a disconnect between personal values and workplace culture.<br /><br />To combat these issues, Olmstead highlights the importance of effective communication skills. Techniques like reflective listening, summarizing patient concerns, and employing tactical negotiation strategies (e.g., mirroring and labeling) are advised to improve interactions with patients. These approaches can help deescalate situations ranging from calm frustration to physically violent outbursts.<br /><br />The document also suggests practice management strategies aimed at improving patient satisfaction, like developing access to community resources, ensuring appropriate follow-up, and scheduling visits that align with patient needs.<br /><br />Olmstead emphasizes organizational strategies for leadership to acknowledge and address these challenges, develop targeted interventions, and promote work-life integration to enhance provider resilience and reduce burnout. Strategies to foster a supportive and cohesive workplace community are also discussed.<br /><br />Finally, self-care practices for providers are recommended, encouraging self-compassion and resilience exercises to facilitate well-being both personally and in their professional engagements with patients. <br /><br />Overall, the document presents a comprehensive approach to managing challenging patients, enhancing provider-patient communication, and addressing systemic contributors to healthcare provider burnout.

Asset Subtitle

Jill Olmstead, DNP, ANP-BC, FAANP

Keywords

patient dissatisfaction

provider burnout

healthcare communication

reflective listening

burnout statistics

workplace culture

practice management

self-care practices

provider resilience

tactical negotiation