"How to talk to Doctors"

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I am in my final weeks of nursing school. In my one of my clinical conferences

I have been assigned to talk about "how to talk to a doctor" as a nurse. The information I present has to be evidence based. The only problem is that I cant find any evidence in the research. In a few articles there is a very general discussion on collaboration but not how a nurse should talk to a doctor. I need help.

Does anyone know of any research articles or books on this? Does anyone

have tips for how to "talk to a doctor"? I have my own idea of how to do this

and it seems up to the individual nurse to adapt to the situation or doctor to convey his or her ideas.

Thanks!!!!!!

Oh yeah and funny doctor stories are always appreciated and loved.

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I'm sure you've probably already heard about this (the SBAR process)?

http://community.nursingspectrum.com/MagazineArticles/article.cfm?AID=13450

and

http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Topics/PatientSafety/SafetyGeneral/Tools/SBARTechniqueforCommunicationASituationalBriefingModel.htm

O and BTW some research has been conducted recently regarding how many nurses feel they've been verbally abused by a physician(although I must confess I have some problems with that particular take on the subject). I don't have links to the articles, but this subject was discussed recently at a nursing research conference I attended.

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thanks for info grateful heart!

I actually have not heard of the process you are speaking of but

will definitely look into it.

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I'm sure you've probably already heard about this (the SBAR process)?

http://community.nursingspectrum.com/MagazineArticles/article.cfm?AID=13450

and

http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Topics/PatientSafety/SafetyGeneral/Tools/SBARTechniqueforCommunicationASituationalBriefingModel.htm

O and BTW some research has been conducted recently regarding how many nurses feel they've been verbally abused by a physician(although I must confess I have some problems with that particular take on the subject). I don't have links to the articles, but this subject was discussed recently at a nursing research conference I attended.

This was exactly what I was looking for! It is very practical and gives

a concrete format for interaction at least from the nurse perspective.

I am glad that they were speaking of this at your conference. It seems

that more research could be undertaken in this area from my look at the

literature. I cant wait to talk about this with my classmates.

Do you know if any nurses had input into to development of this tool?

Thanks again!

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I only looked quickly at you links, and did not see SBAR spelled out anywhere...forgive me if this is a repeat....

This is what the floors at my hospital use…it’s a pre-printed form. I don’t use it in emerg, so not sure of positive & negatives of it, but it looks like it could help to keep you organized, I would not read it word for word, but to have in front of you to focus your thoughts.

S-situation

State who you are (name/position/location)

I am calling about____ (pt name/location)

The pt’s code status is__________

I am calling about____ (new onset chest pain, etc)

My assessment is as follows:

Vital signs_____________

I am concerned about _____________ (symptoms/abnormal values, etc)

B-background (have chart with you)

Admitting diagnosis: ________ Admit date:_____

Proceedures performed________________IVT_________

Meds_______________Allergies_______________

Treatments pre & post onset of this problem________________

O2 ___L/min___________ Previous VS ________________

Lab results___________________________

Report also by system:

NVS: LOC, GCS

Resp: BS, Air entry, cough, secretions, chest tube

CVS: pedal pulses, skin colour, edema, diaphoresis

GI/GU: abd soft/firm, BS, N/V, urine amont

A-assessment (what do you think?)

I think the problem is_________________ OR I am not sure what the problem is, but I am concened. OR…. The pt is unstable and we need to do something.

R-recommendation (what do you want from the physician?)

I recommend ____________________ (come see pt, talk to family about code status, etc). Do you need and tests ordered?

You may need to ask the following:

When are you coming to see the patient?

What parameters do you want me to continue monitoring?

What changed should I expect to indicate improvement?

If you are not coming in, when should I call you again?

**Remember to repeat all orders back to physician**

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Lots of people use SBAR....I just talk to them like any other human and tell them what I am needing/thinking.

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

You're going to run into crabby, cranky, holier-than-thou folks no matter what profession you're in.

The one thing that was pounded in to our heads over and over during simulator exercises this semester was BE PREPARED; have ALL the info the Dr. needs to do his job....if you're interrupting his sleep, a nice dinner out, or his favorite TV show, you don't want to have to do it more than once. The SBAR looks like a great place to start. Makes sense to me.

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So a student is to do an evidence-based presentation on 'how to talk to doctors'? While I understand that students should be encouraged to teach themselves and not rely on being spoonfed what to do, this seems like a topic that ought to be addressed by someone with recent, varied, real-life experience and I'd think an interactive session with role-playing would be best... but not a research-based paper presented by someone without any real experience. I suppose it's more of an exercise is putting together a presentation with the added benefit that the students may learn something useful from what they present.

The suggestions of resources for such a presentation are great!

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I don't know why nurses generally have this fear of talking to doctors. Just talk to them the way that you would talk to any other professional colleague, straight and to the point. Several people have mentioned SBAR, which is a fabulous way to organize your communication, but also remember that you and the doctor both have the same goal in mind which is the good of the patient. Don't call them in the middle of the night for something that can wait and don't wait to call on something that needs immediate attention. Be courteous and they will return the favor, they are people too . . .

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Thanks guys for the input. Today I talked about the SBAR and it seemed to go over well.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.

Wow never thought about how to do it...unless in a report fashion which would be SBAR.

Anything else I approach them as I would anyone else. This past weekend I grabbed myself 2 docs. The first came right over, was great about talking to me and sharing his opinion about what I found (critical lab results ignored for days) and what could be going on and when I did the critical thinking with him he flowed with it. The second doc was the pt's doctor. He was shocked when I gave him the information, thanked me for it even. We also then discussed what this could mean and then what his plans were. So as a student these 2 were great.

Last semester I grabbed at least 1 doc and again he took his time, talked to me, actually he showed me stuff and taught me. It was great.

I approach them with respect (like any other person), I'm polite (like I am to other people), I'm happy (like I am with other people), I ask questions, I show interest, I listen, I go back and forth with them...basically I approach them like I would approach my dad or my mom. So far every one of them have taken to this approach.

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