“May I ask what’s going through your mind?”

When we notice strong emotions, uncertainty, or closing down, our natural tendency is to give more medical information. Good evidence shows effective communication and time-savings from pausing and checking in with your patient. Finding out where they are stuck allows you to address this precisely.

Watch for a change in facial expression, body language, avoiding eye contact, and the more obvious tears or anger.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15890639/

For more information, call our providers at 360-814-5550 or email:

• Erika Pope: epope@hospicenw.org
• Leslie Estep: lestep@hospicenw.org
• Anita Meyer: ameyer@hospicenw.org
• Lissa Anderson: landerson2@hospicenw.org

All Palliative Pearls and other resources can be found by clicking Providers at the top of this page.

If you would like to receive monthly Palliative Pearls via email, please email us at pputney@hospicenw.org.