4 Tips On How To Talk to Doctors

Knowing how to talk to doctors is something that doesn’t come naturally to most nurses. These tips will help you learn how to effectively communicate with doctors and make sure your patients are getting the best care possible.

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Whether you are a brand new nursing student, a new grad nurse, or a seasoned vet, talking to doctors is not always easy. Whether you are trying to ask for a new order or relaying information, it can become a frustrating experience and not one that you look forward to. These 5 tips will help you to know how to talk to doctors in an effective way that will save time and ultimately increase the quality of care your patient receives!

#1- Know what you are going to say

This sounds self-explanatory, but it is one of the biggest mistakes I see new nurses making over and over again. The nurse realizes they need to tell the doctor something (new lab result, need a new order, etc.) and immediately walks over to the physician room (or calls them, this depends on your particular work environment) to ask them for what they need. But when they start talking, the nurse quickly realizes that they aren’t quite ready to relay this information in an efficient manner because they haven’t actually formulated their question. So next time you need to talk to a doctor, stop for a few seconds and figure out what exactly you are going to say, and whether you are just relaying information, or you actually have a specific request for them.

#2- Write down specifics of what you’re going to say

If what you need to tell the doctor involves numbers, values, or specifics of any kind, I highly suggest that you grab a Post-It note and jot them down before you talk to the doctor. Numbers and values have a funny way of rapidly disappearing from your brain the second the doctor looks at you, and the last thing you want is to appear unprepared. If you have it written down in front of you, you will never end up in this awkward spot. I have been saved many times by this method and I still use it every day that I work in the ICU.

#3- Don’t walk away until you understand what they said

Doctors go to school for longer and do more training than nurses, and therefore sometimes they will start saying things to me that are a bit over my head (or a lot over my head, depending on the topic). When I was a brand new ICU nurse, I would often walk away from my conversation with a doctor with more questions than I had before I talked to them. This is super common from what I’ve learned, but also something that you need to prevent. You can do this by never walking away from the doctor until you clearly understand what they told you! If something doesn’t make sense, all you have to do is ASK and they will explain it to you. 99.9% of doctors that I have worked with in the ICU will not only answer your question, but will go into detail about why they are doing what they are doing, and I end up learning something new from the experience. This method also shows them that you care about what they are doing and they are more likely to help explain things to you in the future if they know you are truly interested. So, never walk away from a doctor until their orders or requests make sense to you and you will be golden.

#4- Understand that they are people, too

Doctors are not just machines that only care about their jobs (it can seem that way at times). They are real people with their own personal lives, families, friends, interests, hobbies, etc. If you strike up conversation with them during down time on the unit and get to know them on a more personal level, you will work even better together when it comes to patient related conversations. The extra effort to connect with your physician colleagues can improve moral, increase communication, and most of help, help us take better care of our patients. So don’t be afraid to talk to doctors about things that aren’t medically related, I can tell you that they almost always will appreciate the break from medicine.

Final Thoughts

As a new nurse, there’s no secret tip I can give you that will make you feel 100% confident when talking to doctors. It will be nerve-wracking, and frustrating, and difficult. But as you implement these tips and as times goes on, you will get better and better. And soon enough you will be the seasoned nurse who the new interns are nervous to talk to. Just make sure to remember how you felt on your first day and help them to learn just as you once did! Any tips we didn’t cover? Or funny stories about your first time talking to a doctor? Leave them in the comments!