I was so excited to see this article today! My first thought was, “Wow! They are finally teaching physicians to be more like nurses!” These principles are the very same ones I learned in nursing school twenty years ago. Did you? Do we still use them in nursing? Healthcare has evolved over those twenty years, and I must admit I have not been in a bedside nursing role for most of them. So I can’t really say if nurses in hospitals are using effective communication skills, patient-centered language and the like. In diabetes education (a multidisciplinary specialty) we are still pushing for improvements in these areas.
And patients are demanding this change! Patients are being asked (required?) to be more “engaged” in their health care, and many want to be. We are evolving into a health care system of connections, and away from the assembly-line, “do what you’re told” mentality. If this is ever going to be effective, we all have to play ball – nurses, physicians, patients, and everyone else.
Let’s do this!!
NurseManifest 
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thanks for this. I wanted to make this same comment directly in the WSJ article, but was very annoyed to see that this is only available to WSJ subscribers. there are no comments by nurses and few by women.
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I love your point about healthcare becoming more about connections and that patients are being engaged with. I believe that the “do what we tell you” model doesn’t work. As adults we don’t like being told what to do. Most times we do the opposite! It’s no wonder that we have this issue of “non-compliance” in our system. When we partner with, work together, and listen to what works/doesn’t work for our patients- then we create win-win situations. When we help patients to find their ideal health, their modalities for healing, and their answers within- then we create better outcomes for all. Thanks for sharing this post!
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Thanks for your comment, Elizabeth. I think we can take it even one step further and acknowledge that health care is not about the provider, it’s about the patient. If we make it about the patient, there is no such thing as “non-compliance.” Non-compliance just means they’re not doing what we want. And focusing on connections seems as if it would put the focus on the patient. Thanks again for your comment!
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