How To Turn Five Minutes Into Ten

Over the years, I have been a clinical supervisor or mentor to nursing students, premed students, Communicative Disorders Assistants, grad students in Speech Pathology or Audiology, Hearing Instrument Specialists or just those interested in the field of Audiology. Typically, these students spend time learning the technicalities of my profession and hopefully much more. I have always felt that there is so much more to clinical competence than just theoretical knowledge.

Years ago, I spent much of my working life consulting to a variety of clinical practices, some Audiology and others, Otolaryngology. I was doing some work, testing for a well known and respected Otolaryngoloist and was finding the pace grueling. I was young and wanted to be as complete in my clinical assessment as possible. 

At some point, I commented to the Physician regarding the number of patients seen per day and the panic I was feeling working at this pace. The Physician shared this piece if advise  with me on that day and it is something I have never forgotten. "Sanj,"  he said  "the key to knowing you have used your time efficiently is to spend five minutes with a person and have them leave feeling like they spent ten". 

The longer I have been in practice, the more profound this statement has seemed to me. What is really being proposed is that the time you spend needs to be efficient and effective. When dealing with patients, I try to connect with them right away, to get to a personal level of rapport immediately. I try to be "present" asking questions, having discussions, sharing with efficiency. To personally connect with your health care provider gives one a feeling of comfort and security as well as trust.

Beyond the clinical, this is a lesson for everyday life and interaction as well. The truth is that we may only have that first minute of interaction with others to leave a lasting impression as well as the beginnings of connection.