Struggling with Patient Care Confidence

[stonevs]

Hello all,

I am early in the journey that is choosing whether or not to go to PA school, but I am very interested in PA as a profession and find it to be a great application for my love of medicine, problem solving, and using my knowledge to help people that need care. The part that I worry about, which is surely the biggest part of the profession, is the patient interactions. I am a quiet person who struggles with being social/confident with strangers, and the idea of taking care of and interacting with patients and making choices on the spot that affect their health is definitely daunting to me. Is this something that someone anywhere in the PA track should be absolutely sure about or is it a natural part of the process to not feel confident or comfortable about this aspect yet?

Thanks in advance for your input, I'd love to hear others' experiences regarding this topic.

[Patricia5827]

Hi! I'm not sure how much my advice weighs since I am still in the process of getting into PA schools, but I started out this exact same way. I was very shy. My first healthcare job was a scribe, and after 4 years as a scribe, you come out more confident with communication since you're working side by side with physicians all day every day. I will say, as a PA communication and confidence are both huge things, especially since like you said, patients are looking to you for advice and information. Imagine if you had a PA that was not confident, you would probably not feel 100% comfortable with them. I would suggest finding PCE that involves a lot of communication with patients, so you can practice communicating to them and seeing what situations you will be in as a healthcare provider. MA and EMT are great ways, CNA is also a great experience as well. 

[UGoLong]

The people you see around you that seem to have more confidence probably didn't start out that way. Growing up often means learning to be comfortable in your own skin. Until you are, communication with others can be especially awkward. Maybe you're not the life of the party, but you have your own skills.

The nice think about interpersonal relationships in health care is that, for the most part, they're one-on-one skills with the ability to really listen being at the top of the list.

I echo the post above; get some experience working with patients one-on-one. Learn to build rapport and trust so that they will tell you what they know without fear of being ridiculed. Communicate in a style that works for you. Make eye contact, smile, react to what they're telling you.

What you see as your weakness is probably just a developmental need that you can work on. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Good luck.

[roundabout]

On 4/4/2021 at 1:07 PM, stonevs said:

Hello all,

I am early in the journey that is choosing whether or not to go to PA school, but I am very interested in PA as a profession and find it to be a great application for my love of medicine, problem solving, and using my knowledge to help people that need care. The part that I worry about, which is surely the biggest part of the profession, is the patient interactions. I am a quiet person who struggles with being social/confident with strangers, and the idea of taking care of and interacting with patients and making choices on the spot that affect their health is definitely daunting to me. Is this something that someone anywhere in the PA track should be absolutely sure about or is it a natural part of the process to not feel confident or comfortable about this aspect yet?

Thanks in advance for your input, I'd love to hear others' experiences regarding this topic.

It is completely normal to lack confidence starting off. When I first entered the medical field I used to shake checking a blood sugar on someone. It takes time to gain confidence, and anyone who is confident in treating patients with the knowledge that is required to treat and interact with patients as docs and PA's do gained that over many years and many patient encounters.