I firmly believe that most people make life way too hard. Over the years I have learned that simpler is better, faster, easier and much less stressful.
Research has shown that trying to cover too much material in a lecture leads to less understanding. Too much too fast leads to superficial memorization rather than deep understanding.
At the end of the day the most important points to get across get lost when we try to cover too much material.
Just think what it is like to counsel a new patient on a new drug therapy. If you sit there and list all 28 potential adverse effects their eyes begin to glaze over and they won’t remember any of it. But if you say here is the three big things I need you to remember;
- Take this medication every day in the morning
- Take it right with your breakfast.
- In three days give me a call and let me know how you are doing.
The patient will understand and be more likely to take action.
So what is the Big Three Things you need to know to be a good clinician?
My three are:
Is the action I am about to take going to:
- Make the situation better
- Make the situation worse
- Or have no impact
If it is going to make it better then do it. If it is going to make it worse, don’t do it. And if it really doesn’t matter, give the patient the option.
