Daily Maestroism

DM #90

Sunday, August 21st, 2016

DM #90: A concept that is all too often ignored or overlooked. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with saying that you don't know something.
High quality informational avenues such as novellas and soap operas would have us believe that medical providers have the answers to everything and always know what the problem is. Clearly that isn't the case, and you shouldn't be afraid to let your patients and/or your colleagues in on that not so dirty little secret.
Stop trying to make yourself seem smart by acting like you have all the answers and that nothing is new to you. The truly smart practitioner is the one who knows when to ask for help and realizes that saying “I don't know” is in fact the beginning of a journey, as opposed to the finite end of a discussion.
Now don't get me wrong, certain clinical situations may call for you to extrapolate your knowledge and apply it to a foreign topic, perhaps for the immediate comfort of your patient. I get that. My point is simply that saying “I don't know” and then following it up with something like “but this is what we are going to do,” or “but please, explain it to me,” is often times a far more beneficial route when faced with matters beyond your current experience.
There is something extremely comforting about being taken care of by an actual human being as opposed to a robot with a brain like Google. Your patients WILL understand if you say that you don't know something, so long as they know that that you haven't given up and and that you still care. You're only human. Don't be afraid to show it.

In case you want more, my dude @aswansonpt just did an awesome piece on this, and every sentence 100% echoes my personal beliefs surrounding this issue. So definitely check it out if you have time.
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