--- title: Physician Burnout to Physician Wellness - One Doctor at a Time | physician patient communication description: physician patient communication | Stop Physician Burnout, Build Better Physician Leaders | The Happy MD --- [![Stop-physician-burnout-dike-drummond-physician-leadership-you-can-banner-11-5-2018_opt995W](https://www.thehappymd.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stop-physician-burnout-dike-drummond-physician-leadership-you-can-banner-11-5-2018_opt995W-1.jpg?width=995&height=146&name=Stop-physician-burnout-dike-drummond-physician-leadership-you-can-banner-11-5-2018_opt995W-1.jpg "Stop-physician-burnout-dike-drummond-physician-leadership-you-can-banner-11-5-2018_opt995W")](https://www.thehappymd.com) ## **The Creative Destruction of Physician Burnout ** [![prevent doctor burnout matrix](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/263814/da1e787d-095f-4485-9d4d-9a9bc4195d86.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/263814/da1e787d-095f-4485-9d4d-9a9bc4195d86) # [Stop Physician Burnout - What to do when a patient says thank you](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/stop-physician-burnout-what-to-do-when-a-patient-says-thank-you) Posted by [Dike Drummond MD](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/author/dike-drummond-md) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.thehappymd.com/hubfs/Burnout%20and%20three%20energy%20banks%20thank%20you%20full%20social%20size.jpg) ](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/stop-physician-burnout-what-to-do-when-a-patient-says-thank-you) ## **To prevent physician burnout, you must manage your three internal Energy Banks** A Thank You from a patient or family member can top up all three accounts, but ONLY if you know what to do and say in that moment. "Thank You" is like rocket fuel because it provides an instant infusion of Spiritual Energy, reconnecting you with the purpose in your practice. Unfortunately, most doctors deflect thank yous and miss this golden opportunity to prevent burnout. This is another lesson we never received in Med School, Residency or Fellowship - How to RECIEVE a Thank You with Elegance and Grace. > NOTE: > This is Part 3 of 3 in our Series on Physician Energy Management. Here are the first two: > Part 1 - [*Physician energy has nothing to do with batteries being run down*](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/physician-burnout-has-nothing-to-do-with-your-batteries-being-run-down) > Part 2 - [*Physician's 3 Energy Banks*](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/physician-burnout-and-doctors-3-energy-banks) ***Physician's Top 3 Work-Life Balance Shortcuts*** FREE Online Video Training >> Lessons from our *40,000 doctor experience* 5 CME Credits - Short Online Video Lessons Tools for Daily, Weekly and Monthly Balance [![�� More Life Balance > Get Started Now](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/263814/interactive-147134373658.png) ](https://www.thehappymd.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLFy2RAEUXwpqDCBZubcRrtfA%2BoFbwe%2FMPSepM3I%2BgrlHeKXFOQEqkhVmSr%2FyqsKBSNbbSCjrmC3VYOVsIQxF%2BcnTv94HaKhSXcsXOnnW2FNAoDvcfmf7egOTXRkbuzztMSLX9oizDwuuPBhCSzqg%2BsGll4SOiYcHKnrcit5bos310%2F37skMe7JKWEyAOvTx%2Bexh%2BY%3D&webInteractiveContentId=147134373658&portalId=263814)     ## **The Thank You Connection to Spirit** **Spirit in your practice is your connection to PURPOSE. **You must have reminders you are making a difference and serving a purpose regularly or your Spiritual Energy Bank becomes drained. At that point, the little voice in your head might start whispering, "What's the use." That little voice phrase, "*What's the use. I'm really not making a difference or serving a purpose here*," is actually the third symptom of burnout. **Here's how I discovered the Thank You connection to Spirit.** **It was by accident, early in my physician coaching practice. **I was looking for a way to help doctors remember what they enjoy about seeing patients I asked hundreds of my physician clients: ## *"Tell me about your last Ideal Patient Visit"* **You know the one... **That special interaction, during an otherwise busy day, that lights you up. Where, at the end of the day, you said to yourself, > "*oh yeah, that's why I became a doctor in the first place,*" with a little fist pump. > > > Or when you get home, you say, "*Honey, sit down, I have to tell you what happened at work today."*** > ** *About ten doctors into this inquiry, a pattern began to emerge that has held true to this day - across hundreds of doctors.  * > **97% of the time that feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment comes from two words the patient, or a family member, said to you.** Tags: [Physician Burnout](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/topic/physician-burnout), [physician patient communication](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/topic/physician-patient-communication) [READ MORE NOW >>>](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/stop-physician-burnout-what-to-do-when-a-patient-says-thank-you) # [Doctor Patient Communication - Stop the "Oh By the Way ..."](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/378965/doctor-patient-communication-stop-the-oh-by-the-way) Posted by [Dike Drummond MD](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/author/dike-drummond-md) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.thehappymd.com/hs-fs/file-1506972425-jpg/images/doctor-patient-communication-oh-by-the-way-BTW_opt.jpg) ](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/378965/doctor-patient-communication-stop-the-oh-by-the-way) ## **Doctor Patient Communication - how to stop "Oh, by the way ..." at the end of the visit and build patient satisfaction at the same time.** **You know the visit ... ** You work hard helping your patient adjust the three meds she takes for diabetes and heart failure. You are 20 minutes into this visit, feeling like you have done a good job ... wondering when you will get the chance to write your note because now you are a full 30 minutes behind. **As you are neatly wrapping things up, your patient smiles at you and says, "Oh .. by the way doctor ..." and rummages around in her purse, eventually pulling out "THE LIST".** You sigh, your shoulders slump, it feels as if the wind has been knocked out of you. You didn't see it coming and you just fell into the Tiger Trap of "Oh .. by the way" at what should have been the end of this patient encounter. You would give anything to have been able to prevent this happening ... again. In this post, let me show you how to fill this hole in your doctor patient communication skill set. When you learn to actually ask for the list up front, your energy and patient satisfaction ratings will go way up. ## **Three steps to stop , "Oh ... by the way"** Tags: [physician patient communication](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/topic/physician-patient-communication) [READ MORE NOW >>>](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/378965/doctor-patient-communication-stop-the-oh-by-the-way) # [Talk to Your Doctor so Your Doctor Will Listen](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/290393/talk-to-your-doctor-so-your-doctor-will-listen) Posted by [Dike Drummond MD](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/author/dike-drummond-md) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.thehappymd.com/hs-fs/file-50132372-jpg/images/talk-to-your-doctor-compassion-fatigue-physician-burnout-dike-drummond_opt.jpg) ](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/290393/talk-to-your-doctor-so-your-doctor-will-listen) ## **Talk to Your Doctor so Your Doctor Will Listen** **The most common complaint about physicians on the internet is, “They didn’t listen to me”.** You were sitting in the office and the doctor was physically present in the room, but they weren’t all there. Even worse is when the doctor doesn’t try to understand what you are going through. Sometimes it can seem like they didn’t even care. Let me give you a suggestion on how to talk to your doctor so your doctor will listen. Tags: [Dike Drummond MD](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/topic/dike-drummond-md), [Physician Burnout](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/topic/physician-burnout), [compassion fatigue](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/topic/compassion-fatigue), [physician patient communication](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/topic/physician-patient-communication) [READ MORE NOW >>>](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/290393/talk-to-your-doctor-so-your-doctor-will-listen) [All posts](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/all) ## **Find what you need here...** ## **We wrote the Book on Preventing Burnout** The first Field Manual to a more Ideal Practice - **40,000 copies in print. ** [**CLICK HERE to learn more and get your copy**](https://support.thehappymd.com/stop-physician-burnout-book) [![stop-physician-burnout-book-dike-drummond-40000_opt200W](https://www.thehappymd.com/hs-fs/hubfs/stop-physician-burnout-book-dike-drummond-40000_opt200W.jpg?width=200&name=stop-physician-burnout-book-dike-drummond-40000_opt200W.jpg)](https://support.thehappymd.com/stop-physician-burnout-book) ## **The Burnout Prevention MATRIX 2.0 FREE Report** **Over 235 ways to prevent physician burnout inside.  **[**CLICK HERE to learn more and get your FREE copy**](https://support.thehappymd.com/physician-burnout-prevention-matrix) [![Physician-burnout-prevention-MATRIX-report-6000-downloads_opt.jpg](https://www.thehappymd.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/NEW%20HOME%20IMAGES/Physician-burnout-prevention-MATRIX-report-6000-downloads_opt.jpg?width=200&height=175&name=Physician-burnout-prevention-MATRIX-report-6000-downloads_opt.jpg)](https://support.thehappymd.com/physician-burnout-prevention-matrix) ### **Prevent Burnout** **~**  [Physician Burnout – Why It’s NOT a Fair Fight](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/295048/Physician-Burnout-Why-its-not-a-Fair-Fight) **~**  [Physician Burnout Symptoms Differ in Women and Men](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/294952/Physician-Burnout-Presents-Differently-in-Male-and-Female-Doctors)**~**  [Physician Burnout's Highest and Best Use ](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/378959/Physician-Burnout-Highest-and-Best-Use)**~**  [Pathophysiology and Treatment of Burnout](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/290248/Physician-Burnout-Pathophysiology-and-Treatment-of-Burnout) **~ ** [Physician Wellness - Two Ways to Tell If Your Group Cares](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/290377/Physician-Wellness-How-to-tell-if-Your-Group-Cares) **~**  [Burnout vs. the Bottom Line - the Epic Battle ](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/349242/Physician-Burnout-Vs-the-Bottom-Line-the-Epic-Battle)**~**  [Physician Burnout - Who Will Save Us? ](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/381680/Physician-Burnout-Who-Will-Save-Us) ### **Physician Leadership** **~**  [3 Reasons Doctors Make Lousy Leaders and What You Can Do About It](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/290715/Physician-Leadership-Skills-3-Reasons-Doctors-Make-Poor-Leaders-and-What-You-Can-Do-About-It) **~**  [Monthly Staff Meeting Power Up and Team Venting process](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/290401/Physician-Leadership-Monthly-Staff-Meeting-Power-Up-and-Team-Venting-Process) **~**  [Employed Physician's Guide to Managing Your Boss ](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/369921/Employed-Physician-Guide-to-Managing-Your-Boss)**~**  [Disruptive Physician's Toolkit](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/285327/Disruptive-Physician-Toolkit) #### **"Changed my toxic work situation" ** *"I started to feel better about my life within a couple weeks of beginning our conversations. I knew that I had an ally and friend. I realized that my feelings were predictable based on my circumstances, that I was “normal”. For the first time in years I had real hope that things would change for the better. * *We worked together to find and interview for a new position in the worst job market for my specialty the recruiters have ever experienced. With Dike’s help and persistent positive attitude, I found a new position at a group that really cares about the doctors and I start in two weeks. * *For me, the program has been worth everything. It has enabled me to emerge from my depression, change my toxic work situation, improve my home and family life, and allow myself to be happy and realize that I deserve to be happy.” * **~ Anonymous MD** [![Physician-burnout-prevention-discovery-session](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/263814/cc0b1858-fb1c-4ed3-98e5-4c4f10706093.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/263814/cc0b1858-fb1c-4ed3-98e5-4c4f10706093) - [Home ](https://www.thehappymd.com) - [Blog ](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog) - [About](https://www.thehappymd.com/about-the-happy-md)   - [ Contact ](https://www.thehappymd.com/contact) - |  - [Republish Articles](https://www.thehappymd.com/the-happy-md-content-network-signup-r)   || [Privacy Policy](https://www.thehappymd.com/privacy-policy) | [Terms of Use](https://www.thehappymd.com/terms-of-use) | [Anti-Spam Policy](https://www.thehappymd.com/anti-spam-policy) ||   **© TheHappyMD.com all rights reserved**