Gauge perception.

Differences in understanding and perception of medical information are significant sources of conflict in the hospital. A great way to make sure everyone’s starting from the same page is to gauge perception at the beginning of a conversation.

“What is your understanding of what’s going on?” or “What have you been told so far about your health?” are great ways to open. The key is to see what your patient and/or the rest of the family knows at the beginning so any misinformation or misunderstanding can be addressed. Once you’re sure everyone is starting with the same information, you can then move onto sharing new information and exploring goals and values further.

If you don’t gauge perception in the beginning, then you may find yourself starting over in the middle of a meeting because key pieces of information were missing from the start. Save yourself some time, and gauge perception first!