Health and medical issues can be scary. We count on our doctors and healthcare providers to listen to our concerns and help us through difficult times. We should be able to trust that our doctors will listen to us and treat us with empathy and respect.
Unfortunately, that does not always happen. You may get the feeling that your doctor is not listening to you but wonder if it is a problem. After all, doctors are busy, right?
Short answers or an inattentive attitude from your doctor could leave you feeling like you are the problem. But sometimes the doctor is the problem. It is important to recognize signs that your doctor is not listening to you.
Interrupting
Being interrupted irritates almost everyone. A doctor who constantly interrupts you when you are trying to tell them about your problem or symptoms usually does not get all the information they need to properly diagnose or treat you.
Doctor interruptions are a known problem. One study concluded that doctors interrupt patients after an average of just 18 seconds. While there are various reasons proposed to explain this finding, such as doctor burnout, interruptions by doctors prevent them from truly listening to their patients and getting to the root of the problem.
Doctors who enter the room with a checklist and ask close-ended questions, such as “yes or no” questions are likely going to have a hard time listening to you. Perhaps you are trying to explain your situation but your doctor keeps cutting you off to ask you a question from the checklist and mark a box. This can leave you feeling ignored and unimportant.
Acting distracted
While it is true that doctors, like many of us, have a busy schedule, they should not come across as rushed or distracted when meeting or talking with you. With today’s technology, doctors might have phones, tablets or other devices on them when meeting with patients.
These devices could be necessary to take notes or update your medical records as they speak with you, but this is the only reason they should be using these devices. Otherwise, their attention should be focused on you. A doctor who is using a device for something besides you, or using it to communicate with someone else, is likely not listening to you.
Sometimes doctors dismiss symptoms because they do not want to take extra time and effort to figure out what is wrong. Not all medical problems are quickly and easily diagnosed. Be wary of a doctor who appears to be listening to you but then tells you that there is nothing wrong or your symptoms are “all in your head.”
How to test your doctor’s listening skills
One of the best ways to determine if your doctor is listening to you is to ask them for a summary of what you have told them so far.
If you get the feeling they are not listening, stop talking and ask them if they have any ideas about potential diagnoses. If they cannot summarize what you told them and provide you with possible causes of your condition, there is a good chance they were not listening.
When doctors do not listen to patients, the chance of a medical error significantly increases. A doctor who exhibits these signs could put you at risk of being a victim of medical malpractice.