Whatever happened to the doctor in HMC was unjustified, barbaric, inhuman and uncivil to say the least. No one, doctor or patient, deserves to be beaten up in a manner like this.
Having said that, it is important for doctors to know management of aggression. Unfortunately, doctors, as I have seen them, are completely lacking in this extremely crucial skill. On many occasions, here in Qatar, I have seen patients or their family members who were extremely crucial, but I was able to calm them down very easily. I am no magician, nor am I exceptional in any way. I just followed the basic guidelines of management of aggresion.
Aggression towards doctors can and will happen. There is simply NO way to safegaurd againt it hundred percent. However, the chances of a patient getting angry can be minimized dramatically. I remember just a few weeks back, one patient was escalating. I told the nurse he needs to be sedated chemically. But the nurse would not listen. In a few minutes when the patient started smashing hospital property, the nurse yelled, 'doctor let's give him something.' I told him, no let us wait now, coz you did not take it seriously, let it be a lesson for you for next time.
The most important step you can take to minimize aggression is to build rapport with a patient and their relatives. If you are good in this skill, then no matter how incompetent you are, your chances of being hit will still be minimized.
What doctors usually fail to realize that patients are ALWAYS first. Patients are ALWAYS right. We as doctors are being paid for helping the patients. If there were no patients, we would be redundant. We have to ensure that through our words and actions patients know clearly that they are our priority, that we are there in the hospital only and ONLY for their sake. Once they know this, it is very unlikely they will resort to beating us.
Whatever happened to the doctor in HMC was unjustified, barbaric, inhuman and uncivil to say the least. No one, doctor or patient, deserves to be beaten up in a manner like this.
Having said that, it is important for doctors to know management of aggression. Unfortunately, doctors, as I have seen them, are completely lacking in this extremely crucial skill. On many occasions, here in Qatar, I have seen patients or their family members who were extremely crucial, but I was able to calm them down very easily. I am no magician, nor am I exceptional in any way. I just followed the basic guidelines of management of aggresion.
Aggression towards doctors can and will happen. There is simply NO way to safegaurd againt it hundred percent. However, the chances of a patient getting angry can be minimized dramatically. I remember just a few weeks back, one patient was escalating. I told the nurse he needs to be sedated chemically. But the nurse would not listen. In a few minutes when the patient started smashing hospital property, the nurse yelled, 'doctor let's give him something.' I told him, no let us wait now, coz you did not take it seriously, let it be a lesson for you for next time.
The most important step you can take to minimize aggression is to build rapport with a patient and their relatives. If you are good in this skill, then no matter how incompetent you are, your chances of being hit will still be minimized.
What doctors usually fail to realize that patients are ALWAYS first. Patients are ALWAYS right. We as doctors are being paid for helping the patients. If there were no patients, we would be redundant. We have to ensure that through our words and actions patients know clearly that they are our priority, that we are there in the hospital only and ONLY for their sake. Once they know this, it is very unlikely they will resort to beating us.