Transcript No Slide Title

Being the
Professional You
Were Meant to Be
by Debbie Pottinger, BSH, RRT
What is Professionalism?
“It’s what each of us strives to be daily.”
“It’s what comes to the rescue when your least
favorite patient arrives spitting and hitting.”
“It’s how you treat others with respect and
dignity, even if they dislike you or treat you
rudely”
“It’s more of an attitude…it’s about how we
conduct ourselves and how we accomplish our
tasks”
“It’s never being or acting rudely”
What is a professional…
To be a professional is to be
involved in work we like to do...
to develop in-depth skills in our
chosen area of life’s work not just
because we get paid for it but
because we are truly interested in
being of service to others.
Are You a Professional ?
How you look, talk, write, act and
work determines whether you are
a professional or an amateur.
“Anything you do, do it as a
Professional to Professional
standards”
Professional vs Amateur
Professional
Amateur
Learns every aspect of the job
Skips learning process
whenever possible
Does not let mistakes slide by
Ignores or tries to hide
them
Level headed and optimistic
Upset and assumes worst
Enthusiastic, cheerful, content
Anger, hostility, victim
Produces more than expected
Just enough to get by
Punctual & Prompt
Shows up late, misses
deadlines
The first step to making yourself a
professional is to decide that you
ARE a professional
Are You????
How we perform under
pressure is one of the key ways
of practicing professionalism
How do you perform under
pressure?
People who practice professionalism
understand that everything they do, either
positive or negative, has an impact on
those around them.
At the same time, everything others do,
either positive or negative, has an impact
on the professional.
Therefore, the professional, at all times,
strives to behave in a positive and ethical
manner.
Remember: You are the service that
you’re providing.
Make sure that every person you work
with or come in contact with will
remember you favorably.
How does anger affect professionalism?
Let’s look at statistics:
Studies have shown that healthcare
professionals have depicted the hospital as
a virtual war zone, using numerous
military metaphors: “I become fatigued by
having to do all these battles;” “I was
getting flak;” “We feel sabotaged.”
In one example, Smith and Hart
conducted a study to examine how MedSurg nurses managed angry patient
situations.
When anger was perceived as a personal
attack, nurses tended to disconnect. They
did not understand the patient’s reality.
As their own anger arose, they tried
strategies such as time out, transferring
blame, seeking peer support, and
smoothing it over by acting as if nothing
had happened
A better outcome was achieved in the
study by participants who were able to
remain connected with the patient,
analyze the anger, and not take it
personally.
Anger towards patients/families
Anger in the healthcare setting oftentimes,
is directed toward inappropriate targets
and/or expressed too intensely.
Thus, healthcare professionals must be
prepared to deal with the anger of patients,
family members, physicians, and
colleagues - as well as their own anger
Unfortunately, the response to a patient’s anger is
often a defensive one that actually fuels more
anger. For example, a patient who is in pain,
waiting for an analgesic, does not want an
explanation (“we’re short of help”) instead, the
patient wants reassurance that something will be
done.
Your gut level toward the patient may be
annoyance, irritation and, basically, “Why
me?”
Isn’t it interesting that when you have
touched the bottom of your empathy and
the care that needs to be delivered is at the
top of your professional capacity, that
professionalism has to shine?
This is the point where you have to make a
conscious and deliberate decision to
stretch yourself to give the professional
care that your patient deserves.
This is where we move from the depths of
our human emotional reactions to the
heights of our ability to deliver a higher
level of quality care for each and every
patient and demonstrate true
professionalism!
What we must understand is that
underneath the angry demands are
deep fears of abandonment.
While negative feelings toward
patients are understandable, and
limits should be set (“I will check on
you in 15 min”)..the ultimate solution
is giving consistent care that
alleviates their fear.
One of the most important things healthcare professionals
can do for the difficult patient/family is to listen to them.
Find out the story behind their issue. Just because you
listen to their story and try to understand their feeling,
does not imply that you accept their point of view. It
means that you heard them.
“Blowing off” the patient’s and families frustrations is
one of the greatest preventable “trust busters.”
Patients and families hold dearly to what we say and
promise. They take us literally.
Physician anger:
Another manifestation of dysfunctional anger in
healthcare settings is verbal abuse of healthcare
professionals by physicians.
At the moment of an angry attack by a physican
the healthcare professionals’ feelings of
helplessness are understandable. The attack is
often unexpected as well as unfair. But you
must learn to cope effectively with physician
temper tantrums, not only to preserve your own
self esteem but also to prevent adverse
consequences to patient care
Anger of healthcare professionals at
with each other:
Disturbing aspects of research with healthcare
professionals shows their anger at each other.
Words taken verbatim from transcripts illustrate
how we wound each other with our words.
“faultfinding”, “backbiting,” “snapping,”etc.
(Brooks et al., 1996; Smith et al., 1996). More
subtle manifestations included damaging gossip,
nonverbal signals, and chilly silence.
How can we avoid negative
feelings that may arise between
co-workers?
Accept our co-workers, and appreciate their
point of view.
Ask for explanation and additional facts,
when you need it.
Be in a problem-solving mode. It is more
important to solve the problem than it is to
be right.
With good communication, and a little
understanding, you'll not only improve your
professional relationships, you'll be more
Because we’re all unique, each of us deals
with our anger in our own way.
Sometimes we express it in a way that
feels good in the moment, but causes more
problems afterwards. Sometimes we keep
our anger inside because we don’t want to
make trouble…but that just seems to make
us feel worse.
Healthcare professionals who are
comfortable experiencing and
acknowledging their anger usually respond
more effectively to the expression of anger
in other people.
Handling others’ anger begins with handling our
own. Thoughts and feelings are closely linked.
The Thought-Emotion Link (Wrong reaction)
Incident: Angry family member
Your Thoughts
Who do they think they are
How dare they!
Your Emotions Your Behavior
Annoyance
Yell/tell them off
Anger, rage
Negative body
language
You’re the owner of your own emotions.
Only you have access to the systems in
your body that lead you to become angry.
You’re in complete control of that
process.
Tips For Dealing With Anger
Stop, take time to calm down and reflect,
count to 10 to buy time to think rationally
Don’t personalize every negative statement
you hear
If you have been part of the problem, admit
it and remember the power of a sincere
apology
Thought for the day:
“Anger is an emotion under
inner control not external
control”
“You can't change another
person's personality, but you
aren't powerless to change the
situation.”
So, let’s ask again….Are you a professional?
Remember to look at the big picture. Be
adaptable, flexible and use good sound
judgement. Be open-minded and fair.
Conduct yourself in a manner which
demonstrates your dedication to professionalism.
We are a team, and the actions of one - good or
bad- reflect on us all.
By being professional we will serve our patients
and each other in the best possible manner !!!