The Importance of #Listening in the Patient #Healthcare

How can we listen well when we have limited time and high demands?

This is an important question across all types of organizations. 

And especially in the medical environment, have a potential life and death answer.

The ability of health providers to listen is key to enhancing the patient experience and giving quality health care.  

Dr.  Krishna Naineni (Nigh- Nay- Knee) is a General Practitioner (GP) in the southeast of England. He is a Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners and a faculty at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. He is a passionate medical educator with interest in listening-centered clinical communication. 

Currently, he is serving as a Chair of International Listening Association‘s Healthcare team. As a Certified ECHO Listening Practitioner, Krishna is encouraging healthcare professionals to establish intelligent listening units in their respective workplaces. 

He is a co-founder of Glocal Academy which has been instrumental in delivering custom-made listening-centered clinical communication skills training programs to healthcare professionals and organizations India and UK.

In this episode, Dr. Naineni unravels his own discoveries, difficulties, and experiences in clinical listening. He shares how transformative it is to truly listen to patients and colleagues despite the constraints of time. He also shares the techniques he uses to reframe his thinking for effective diagnosis’ and a better doctor-patient relationships.

“We all have the capacity to listen well. Believe in the magic of listening. The act of listening is the greatest gift that you can give.”  – Dr. Krishna Naineni

Listen In Notes

00:00 –  The power of listening. Dr. Krishna Shares how his communication struggles propelled him to  work on his listening skills. 

05:10 –  The role of listening in the medical healthcare system.

06:42 –  The constraints of time vs. the optimized listening. Dr. Krishna shares how one mindset shift can make it possible to provide a better patient experience.

09:35 –  The journey for self-improvement and internal work.

16:24 –  The hunger to learn. Dr. Krishna reveals how teaching in the medical industry made him see the new generation of doctors’ tenacity to improve on listening.

19:04 –  Cultivating doctor-patient relationships through listening. Dr. Krishna reveals the effects of letting the patients share more during the consultation.

33:00 –  Team Rambo Journal Club. Dr. Krishna shares the group that they made to support medical students in healthcare communication or listening.  

39:00 –  “Negation” as a tool. Dr. Krishna shares one of his learnings from J. Krishnamurti, “Through NEGATION, that thing which alone is the positive comes into being.”

 Key Takeaways:

(on the impact of slowing down) “When I slowed down, I was more present. And people were more forthcoming with their concerns…with the real problems and real issues. And they were more engaging with the things that I was sharing with them.”- Dr. Krishna Naineni

 “To work in 21st, dynamic healthcare setting…you need to have an element of bravery. You need to be courageous to defy the challenges. And most importantly, the openness. So R-esponsibility, A-daptability, M-otivation, B-ravery, and O-penness becomes RAMBO.”- Dr. Krishna Naineni

“By creating a space where people can be heard, we can then move to this more human side of things. We can work together and connect to a level that goes beyond.”- Dr. Krishna Naineni

“Through negation, I am intentionally negating the blocks, the barriers, to listening. I am acknowledging that there is a  thought coming through. I am not acting on it. I put aside and focus on what is happening.” – Dr. Krishna Naineni

“If you want to listen to the person in front of you, you must stop listening to you.”- Dr. Krishna Naineni

Resources and People Mentioned:

Connect with Dr. Krishna Naineni

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