Keeping It Simple In Clinical Medicine

As physicians caring for patients, there are more and more things to consider and handle, including the insurance restrictions, documentation requirements, time limit allotted to see each patient (as determined by your institution or practice), and many other things. The more you think about it, the more you may feel overwhelmed. When you feel overwhelmed, it is difficult to get things done efficiently.

The best approach is to keep things simple. This means not to make things more complicated than they are. There is always the potential pitfall of over-simplifying things, where you miss some crucial details. It is a fine balance, and the more you practice to keep things simple, the less likely you will fall into the trap of oversimplification.

The first thing to keep it simple is your mind. What is your goal for the day? This may be the same goal you have every day, for example, taking great care of patients and going home on time. With your goal in mind, you have a direction. Everything you do is to point you toward that direction. When there is something that does not seem to satisfy your goal, eliminate it if possible or modify it.

Keep your mind focused. Focus on one thing at a time. It is important to realize that multi-tasking does not exist in the human brain. Your mind is not capable of handling more than one thought or one task simultaneously. When you attempt to defy your mind’s capacity, you will end up being less efficient. You may be frustrated because you are not capable of doing what you intended to do.

Prioritize what you want to focus on first. Sometimes it is obvious to pinpoint what to do first, and sometimes there are several choices with similar degree of importance. Just pick one and go with it. When you dwell in the indecision mode, nothing will get done.

Keep your instructions and messages simple. This applies to communicating with the staff and with the patients. When you are giving your staff instructions, make sure the directions are in simple language, easy to follow and to the point. Be as specific as possible, so there is no room to interpret it differently. This will avoid mistakes from miscommunication and misunderstanding.

When you are talking to your patients or their families, be mindful to use the language that they understand. Avoid using only medical terms. It is alright to use certain medical terms and explain what they mean. The purpose to communicate with your patients and their families is to help them understand the disease process, the prognosis and the options of treatment. When you are delivering bad news, oftentimes it is already overwhelming for the patients. It is helpful to use language that is easy to understand.

Keep your charting simple and to the point. Patient charts are for you to record the patient’s presenting problems, your findings, your assessment and your plan. A patient chart is also a tool to communicate with other clinicians. Just as you want to keep the language simple and clear with verbal communication and messages, it is important to use plain language in charting. As a patient chart is a document meant for medical professionals, it is alright (and expected) to have medical terms included. Keep charting to the point and avoid redundancies. Have a set format of how you write the notes, so it is easy for you to find certain information – such as the chemotherapy history of a patient.

Keep a smooth workflow. For the most part, seeing one patient and finishing the chart and orders is the most efficient way to operate. There are exceptions. Keeping things simple also means that you do not overthink and you are ready to be flexible to change. For example, while I stick with seeing one patient and doing one chart in the office, I do it differently in the inpatient setting. I find the workflow more streamline when I see about ten patients and then do the orders and their charts. This also changes depending on how critically ill the patients are. The point is, explore, be open-minded, and find out what flow works the best for you.

Workflow also includes minimizing distractions and interruptions. Standard operating protocols are helpful.

When you keep things simple at work, you are less likely to feel overwhelmed. You are less likely to feel stressed. You have more capacity to focus and concentrate. This translates into increased efficiency and productivity. When you simplify the communication between the staff and the patients, it is easier to understand and less chance of miscommunication or misinterpretation.