In this episode, Dan and Michele Deceuster chat with me about their experience with testicular cancer and the amazing things their medical providers did to help them through the process.

Dan also talks about how we can better guide our patients as we are asking them questions.

This podcast episode has changed the way I ask my patients what questions they have for me at the end of our visit. I'm grateful for patients like Dan that can teach me how to do my job better. I'm excited for you to learn from him as well.

At age 28, Becca Doutre started having stroke symptoms when she was 35 weeks pregnant with her 4th child. She tells about her medical journey and gives us some great tips on ways health care providers can read the emotions in the room and act accordingly, be sensitive to patients who become our 'frequent fliers' and help carry the burdens of our patients.

Becca gives shout outs to North Davis Hospital in Layton Utah, University of Utah Health Care System, Primary Children's Hospital and Dr. Carolyn Belfry at the Ogden Clinic.

When I was 15 I started working at the grocery store near my home. The lessons I learned from interacting with customers there taught me invaluable lessons that would go on to skyrocket my patient satisfaction scores.

Today we talk about how to overcome the feeling that you are being unnatural or fake as you try to implement new habits when interacting with patients. It's time to whip out a little 'deodorant' and make ourselves more tolerable to all around us!

Listening well to our patients is one of the best ways to make them feel cared for. We often gain information that we wouldn't have otherwise. Most post-visit surveys also ask the patient if they felt they were listened to. So becoming better at listening is such an important skill for healthcare providers.

In this episode we talk about 3 simple skills you can implement in any patient encounter to improve your listening:

1. Listen with your eyes & ears using batching

2. Show you are listening to understand

3. A tried-and-true skill you can use to help redirect patients who get off topic easily