With these simple acts, you can build trust with your patients.

When I was a fellow, I had the best role model. My fellowship director was Dr. Sandra Belmont, who is one of the mothers of refractive surgery in New York. When I met her, she had already been in practice for many years. I appreciated that Dr. Belmont was never judgemental — she was always open to listening to her patients and would never brush aside what they said. As a young fellow, she would also listen to what I had to say and never made me feel like I was asking a stupid question — even though at times I thought I was.

From this experience, I learned how to be an effective listener and communicator with my patients. In this article, I’ll explain how these skills can go a long way in building trust between the surgeon and the patient.

BE AN EFFECTIVE LISTENER

To me, effective listening is when you’re not ready to answer the patient. Instead, you’re listening empathetically and trying to understand what the patient is feeling, looking at their body language, listening to their tone of voice and really being in the moment with them.

If the patient is there with a family member or a partner or friend, listen to what all parties have to say and how this is affecting their lives.

LEARN FROM YOUR PATIENTS

Learning from our patients is the only way we can care for them properly. What the patient goes through is unique to them. Start by asking them specific questions. For example, “What brings you in today? Are there any concerns you have about your eyes?” For cataracts or visual complaints, you can ask “Is there anything your vision is limiting you from doing in your daily life? Is it affecting the quality of your life?” For pain, you can ask “When does it come on? How long does it last? Is there anything that makes it feel better?” I have learned so much about the problems that my patients are having as well as their good experiences directly from them.

VALUE WHAT PATIENTS TELL YOU

If a patient is post-surgery, for example, and tells you about something that they are experiencing, don’t deny them that experience. Instead, value what they are experiencing and don’t make it seem trivial. If they tell you they see floaters, a little shadow or little flashes of light after cataract surgery, acknowledge that it exists. They’re noticing these things that they didn’t encounter before. For them, it’s a real experience and they’re concerned about it.

FIND COMMON GROUND

Talking to patients about something that makes you more human to them really helps them open up and makes the encounter less stressful. For example, my kids are 6 and 8 years old, and I have a lot of patients who have grandkids that are those ages. I’ve seen many of those patients light up when I open that line of conversation for them to talk about their grandkids. This is a great opportunity as their ophthalmologist. If they’re spending time with their grandkids for some parts of their day, this will lead into a discussion about how their vision is affecting them in real life, and they will tell me more about what they need for their eyes.

In addition, I have found that being fluent in English, Punjabi and Spanish has broken down barriers in communicating with my patients. They are less shy to speak of their problems and also feel a huge sense of relief. Having a translator is second best but absolutely necessary, and I would recommend having this service in place always!

BE TRANSPARENT IN COMPLEX CASES

Finally, let a patient know if a case is going to be complex. For example, you can say, “This isn’t a straightforward case. I’m going to think about this.” Other options include, “I’m going to reach out to more of my colleagues and go over this case with them,” or, “I’m going to reach out to my mentors.” Let the patient know what’s going on through your thinking process. I find that they really appreciate that honesty. They feel like you’re going the extra mile for them, which you are. OM

Himani Goyal, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology at NYU Langone Health, specializing in cornea, cataract and anterior segment surgeries. She recently took on the role of chief of ophthalmology at Bellevue Hospital — the heart of the ophthalmology residency program for NYU. For Dr. Goyal, clinical and surgical education for residents has been a career-long passion. She also aims to bridge the gap between quality of care for patients in public vs private hospitals. Follow her @himanibk on Instagram and @HimaniGoyalMD  on Twitter.