Whether it's getting a mentally ill patient to participate in treatment, or juggling demands on your time from other staff, making deals is bread and butter psychiatry.
These are general tips for dealing with competing demands on your time or management plans.
- Know what is important, so you know what you can afford to yield. Agreeing to take a smaller dose of medicine, might be a better outcome than an adamant 'no' to the reccommended dose.
- Don't argue with someone who is acutely psychotic. They will not suddenly say "OK, your flawless logic has convinced me. I think I will have that medication I've steadfastly refused for the last 6 minutes/days/months. Thanks." Do what you need to do and talk again when they are more settled.
- Tell people clearly what you are planning to do. Let them know what to expect. Then let them ask questions if they need to.
- Don't talk down to people. They will not appreciate or respect it. And they just might ignore what you say.
- Listen to what the patient/family/case worker is saying. Don't dismiss it. You might disagree, but listen first.
- Answer your pager when it goes off. I am allergic to my pager. But when I answer reliably, people get much less frustrated with me and complain to their supervisors less about me. They even start to cut me some slack.
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