Modeling Mutual Respect in Healthcare

By Kathy Saldana, MA, CPXP

Imagine you have an interview for a job you really need. In fact, you won’t be able to pay your bills if you don’t get this job. Before entering the interview, you send a note to the interviewer that reads, “I have zero tolerance for disrespect. You will be removed from my interview if you convey disrespect. Don’t try me.” 

An unusually magnanimous employer could imagine you felt a need to self-protect due to previous negative experiences, but most would cancel the interview, perceiving and rejecting your presumption that they would behave inappropriately.  

While ludicrous, this example resembles how health systems inadvertently communicate when posting signs warning patients about ramifications for future unruly behavior. Clearly, these posters are a byproduct of mistreatment by patients, but, responding to rude or even violent encounters by a few, with a threat to all, produces patient defensiveness. It’s as if we are sending patients a, “Don’t try me,” note before they ever meet us face-to-face. It’s insulting, and insult is a reasonable response. 

Medical personnel are becoming more likely to face rude encounters (as are all employees in a decreasingly civil society). This does not, however, negate the fact that we work for patients. We are, in fact, unable to pay our bills without them. And just as we would never start an employment relationship with, “Don’t try me,” we should never start patient visits this way. 

Rather than a threat, the most likely communication in a decision to work together would be defining a common goal, then agreeing on how to work together to achieve it. The goal between us and our patients is understood, and mutual respect is our necessary agreement. The onus to model and require respect in return rests on us, because despite working for patients, the complex responsibilities of providing healthcare are ours. Our communications should set the tone for encounters, conveying gratitude for the partnership and our promise to show respect – with the inseparable and unnegotiable expectation to be respected in return while working together to achieve patients’ healthcare goals.  

Not all partnerships work – some must be ended. When this happens, we must protect our remaining and future relationships by respectfully working with all who seek to achieve their healthcare goals with us. This respect should be evident in all communications, including those read by patients in our hallways before encounters even begin. 

About the Author
Kathy Saldana, MA, CPXP
Patient Experience Advisor
Baptist Health Care

Kathy Saldana has a Master of Arts in Communication and Digital Media and is a Certified Patient Experience Professional (CPXP). As a Patient Experience Advisor at Baptist Health Care, Kathy fosters the inseparable and mutually beneficial results of positive patient experience and team member satisfaction via purposeful and compassionate communication. Kathy’s goal is to position team members to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of providing patients with compassionate encounters while providing excellent patient experience.   

Kathy’s recent accomplishments include publication of her article, “The Legitimacy of the Patient Story” and receiving the Baptist Health Care Legend Award for her actions to benefit the health system and the community during and following her 2023 treatment for breast cancer.