Speaking with Passion and Through Stories

#Healthcare is a field filled with #passionatepeople. That is best seen at the bedside. Our finest people are providing hands-on care. Our hearts are on the line when we are giving our all to our patients. That’s when we, as healthcare workers, are at our best.

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However, not everyone in healthcare fits that mold. Healthcare is also a business. Medicine is a science. All these things come together when we care for patients. To provide the best care, we all must speak one another’s language.

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Our wonderfully passionate people at the bedside speak in stories. They are great at giving a sign out that tells us not only the medical information, but nuances that aren’t always found in the chart. They’ll tell us social and family information that can impact care but doesn’t necessarily fit into the EHR. I sometimes sit in on the nurses’ shift change sign out, as I get incredible information that I won’t find anywhere else.

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When things go sideways, these people emote. They remind all of us of the need to #ProcessOurEmotions, something many of us would rather skip over and move on during our lives, bottling things up and hoping for the best.

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If you are one of these passionate people, I thank you and honor you. You are likely high in the Nurturing personality type. You can check that by grabbing your personality code here.

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The drawback to this story form of communication is that sometimes we forget that not everyone speaks this way. When other people don’t speak to me in stories, I may get offended. I may feel the other party is cold, unfeeling, or even rude. If someone of the Nurturing type makes a business proposal, I might think that the success of my proposal is dependent upon how passionate I am, when in fact I need to bring a bullet-pointed outline describing the risk-benefit ratio of my plan. If I don’t understand this, it could lead to hurt feelings, a loss of confidence and #CrushedDreams.

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When I’m speaking to #physicians or #LabPersonnel, I may get cut off, as my stories are too long, emotional, and not informational. In truth, doctors don’t want to hear a story when awakened at 2:00 am. They just want the cliff notes.

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If you’ve had these experiences, please remember it’s not personal, it’s personality. Go back through this miniseries. Recognize that different personalities speak different languages. Go to my website, BeatDownBurnout.com, and download my three tips for #communication. Try to see that others speaking from their personality type is not intended to slight you. Learn to listen for the other person’s personality type, and their values, to honor and respect them. I can help you shift from one personality to the other, as the situation needs. I’m Nan Nuessle, MD, and I’m here to help.