As physicians have an idea of a model patient, the patient has an idea of the ideal physician. Each builds his perfect image in his imagination, and conflict between doctor and patient can arise because of a simple mismatch of these images (Curlin & Tollefsen, 2021). The peculiarity of patient interaction is that the patient can go to another doctor, and the doctor has no right of choice in this situation. Therefore he should be ready to adjust to the interlocutor and make communication with the patient effective and comfortable for both of them.
Among typical controversial situations arising from the doctor-patient conflict, the most private is the patient’s refusal to comply with the doctor’s prescription for various reasons. The main reason for this behavior may be the refusal to change, even if it later becomes a change for the better. Moreover, patients are in a stressful state; everything new and unusual frightens them. Rejection is possible, caused by the internal state of the patient, his or her bad mood, and emotional distress, which requires psychological processing.
One of the most problematic models of patient-doctor relations is the engineering model, within which manipulation of the patient’s body is the main thing. This approach does not involve a psychological contract that allows the client to feel trust in the treatment methods (Curlin & Tollefsen, 2021). In the paternalistic type of relationship, the boundaries of patient and doctor are not sufficiently delineated, as the doctor’s authority is assumed to be unquestioned.
Establishing personal boundaries is challenging for me in my personal and professional life. Experience has shown that general theoretical knowledge is insufficient to protect one’s interests in different social communities. In order to understand how to interact with people and resolve conflicts, I needed a good understanding of my requirements and value system—mostly in-depth psychological work and learning the basics of ethics and communication.
Reference
Curlin, F., & Tollefsen, C. (2021). The way of medicine: Ethics and the healing profession. University of Notre Dame Press.