Less Speech From Speech Pathologists: How listening can change lives

Some SLPs joke and say, “I became a speech pathologist because I love to talk.” But there’s not much truth to this jest. SLPs may like to speak, but their far more superior skill is listening: To the patient, to their preferences, expectations, and concerns; and to our team who will be managing those concerns. We have spent countless hours studying and training to help patients understand what is said to them, but how much time have we spent understanding what the patient says to us?

Listen to Learn

Listening is at the heart of communication. In fact, much of speaking is simply thinking out loud by listening to ourselves talk. That’s why so many of us call our loved ones as soon as we have a problem. We LOVE “talking it out.” And for good reason. Talking helps us take complex concepts in our thoughts and put them out into the world to make sense of them. It also helps us understand and work through our emotions. So why not let our patients have this same opportunity? If you listen well enough, maybe they can help you figure out how to best treat them. 

Listening is cheap. Not listening is expensive.

Our failure to listen to our patients in healthcare has taken its toll. It impacts our entire relationship with the patient. Without listening we lose their trust. Without trust, we don’t have honesty or clarity. The results are a patient who only speaks when spoken to and neglects to bring up core issues. It’s not just us, physicians have this problem with patients as well. And it has an impact on the cost of healthcare. 

Patience for Patients

There is a reason why patients and patience are homophones. If we don’t take the time to listen, we miss a world of important information. But doing this is easier said than done. With productivity requirements, 100 patients to see, and a manager who won’t let up, we feel like we have little time to simply listen. Though some argue that listening to the patient isn’t just another thing we do in a laundry list of tasks, but instead it’s the most important thing we do...

Who hasn’t gone through a chart with a fine-tooth comb only to walk into the room and hear the patient talk about critical issues that totally conflicted with their documentation? Or how about when you take 75% of your consultation time educating a patient on the benefits of thickened liquids only to realize the following day that she never had any intention to drink them? So maybe planning “listening time” into our session is the best path forward to an effective assessment. You don’t have to sacrifice other parts of the process to make time for listening. Listening is the foundation of that process. And it will ultimately supplement all other findings. Putting the effort into listening will help you see the whole picture and how all the little pieces fit together. Take the time to listen upfront and you’ll save time, energy, and cost in the long run.

Listening Saves Lives

Listening to your colleagues is something that we don’t do enough of either. I don’t mean that we ignore our beloved nurses or walk away from an MD mid-chat. What I mean is that we aren’t fully present when listening to them. Kate Murphy says in her book, “You’re not listening” that we are often so preoccupied with thinking about how we are going to respond to somebody that we don’t take the time to fully listen to what they’re saying. This leads us to make assumptions, miss important information, and ultimately fail to see the whole picture that would lead to successful patient management. And the results can be devastating.

The Art (and Skill) of Listening

Listening is a skill- one we can get better at with time. But to build this skill we have to start with the right intentions. We are interested in the patient’s point of view and we care about what they have to say. So give them time to say it. Listen not only to the words but to the body language and the emotion behind the message (Are they scared, excited, confused, frustrated, etc.?). When they stop speaking ask, “Is there anything else?” to get every ounce of information out. Remember that this information is gold just waiting to be mined. It ultimately can mean the difference between an effective care plan or one that is ineffective, neglected, or even completely ignored.  

Lose Your Tongue and Lend an Ear

Listening shows respect. It builds trust. And it forms connections that would be impossible otherwise. These pillars are needed in healthcare more than any change to the payer system. We may be experts in communication and comprehension, but how many of us take the time to improve our own ability to listen and understand?  Opportunities to build the skill of listening are at our fingertips almost every minute of every day. All we have to do is be quiet and lean forward. This will help us remember that we aren’t a totalitarian ruler over the patient’s care dictating a path forward for them, but instead, a guide lending them an ear when needed in order to understand which path is best for them. When trying to assess our patients, let’s forget the “speech” in our title and try to do more listening. We might learn a thing or two. 

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