The Art of Health & Wellness Through Coaching: A Physician’s Perspective
I’ve always valued the art of patient care, the human connection that comes from listening to someone’s history, understanding their concerns, and tailoring treatment to their needs. My medical training at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in the 90’s emphasized the importance of the “intake” and the partnership. But over time, I began noticing something troubling: the art of patient care was being dehumanized.
In the busy reality of modern medical practice, the history-taking process that was conducted by assistants and myself was once a patient-focused exchange and suddenly was becoming streamlined, sometimes mechanical. With electronic medical records, my previously-crafted notes and instructions could be rolled over from one visit to the next, without pausing to ask essential questions:
“How did this work for you?”
“What happened since we last met?’
We need to ask if treatments were used, if they helped, or if they made things worse. Because of perceived time pressures, workforce training and system demands, the patient’s interim health and experience was being neglected.
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Why did I Choose to Train in Health and Wellness Coaching?
I decided to take the Emory Health and Wellness Coaching course, partly because I was an “empty-nester,” and mostly because I wanted to reclaim that art of dialogue and empowerment in patient care. Coaching is a separate field with tremendous value, but some of its techniques and skills can profoundly enrich patient encounters.
Unlike traditional directive medicine (“Here’s what you need to do…”), coaching focuses on:
Open-ended questions
Active listening
Reflections
Exploring barriers and motivations
Personal goal-setting
Empowering
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Why does a Coaching Approach Matter?
In medicine, we sometimes assume that if we explain a treatment plan “clearly” enough, the patient will simply follow our instructions. But not everything we say is understood or practical. There are important factors like lifestyle, habits, finances and personal priorities that need to be taken into consideration.
Explore the difference in phrasing:
“Are you using your cream twice a day?”
Or it might be:
“What’s been your experience using the cream? What’s worked well, and what’s gotten in the way?”
There is real opportunity to help when we explore the why and how within the patient history.
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Bringing the Art Back into Medicine has Great Value
Health and wellness coaching offers ongoing, empowering, and relevant support that benefit many patients. By incorporating even a few coaching principles into my patient encounters, I’ve seen the shift in engagement which hopefully impacts the healing process and outcome. It has been revitalizing. We can weave some of these skills into daily practice or refer to a coach. The goal is to help ensure that patient participation and ownership of their health is fostered.
The art of hearing my patients can be blended with the science that I understand, to ultimately keep their skin healthy.