Are special strategies needed for dealing with difficult people — beyond the gracious response?
Sometimes it helps to change the physical setting. Ask the complainant to discuss the matter with you in a private area without an audience of other patients. If they’re standing, ask them to sit. Give the complainant something to eat or drink. If the chemistry isn’t right, ask a colleague to step in who may be better able to deal with the patient’s personality type, or who may have other ideas on possible alternatives. Also remember that sicker patients tend to be more distressed and angry, and that various medical problems, social problems, and anxieties may be underlying their behavior. Give attention to the medical and psychosocial aspect of their care, take their complaints and problems seriously, and teach them other, more appropriate ways of dealing with their problems. What can we do about complaining patients who cross the line from difficult to abusive? If a patient is verbally abusive and other strategies haven’t worked, you could say, “Mr. Egan, would you mind telling me wh
