Patient Communication: How to Have the Hard Conversations in Practice

Recorded On: 03/01/2022

Join Dr. Alli Totzke and Ms. Serena Norris as they discuss how to have difficult conversations with your patients. While chiropractic physicians are trained to identify mental health flags, improvement is needed in identifying those flags and triaging them into practical uses – especially at a time when patients may be more vulnerable due to the isolation or changes in resources for mental health brought on by a global pandemic.

In this webinar, you will learn how to evaluate patients without drawing significant attention to their vulnerabilities, as well as how to provide direction on resources or referral opportunities for mental health care. You will also take away tactics to help patients remove themselves from dangerous situations (e.g., crisis centers). This course covers all patient ages and briefly touches on marginalized communities and cultural awareness to help you understand customs that may cause different patients to believe their situations are acceptable based on socialized experiences or learned coping mechanisms.

Key takeaways include: how to identify red flags of patients in high-risk situations; how recognize where to report concerning behaviors based on state-specific or ethical responsibilities; and how to manage expectations and document the conversations in order to protect yourself or the patient in potential court proceedings.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify red flags of patients in high-risk situations.

2. Recognize where to report concerning behaviors based on your state and ethical responsibilities.

3. Manage expectations and how to document this to protect yourself as well as the patient if ever used in a court of law.

This disclaimer exists to inform the viewer that during this presentation, one of the slides shown incorrectly identifies a group due to a minor error. The correct acronym the presenters wished to display was LGBTQ+. We apologize for this inconvenience, and hope that you recognize this information exists to replace what is presented. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us at education@acatoday.org for more details regarding this topic. We have updated the handout/PowerPoint to reflect this correction.

Alli Totzke-Hitzeroth, DC, MPP

Dr. Alli Totzke-Hitzeroth, DC, MPP, has been a leader in the profession from early on. She had been involved with professional organizations with a multitude of titles including the ACA, World Federation of Chiropractic, ChiroCongress, Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, and the Unified Virginia State Association. She has engaged with policymakers at all levels, with an extensive background of legislative and advocacy work spanning topics from the Medicare bill, rural healthcare accessibility, nutritional research, and diplomacy. She has often been a voice for change in connecting other chiropractors with roles that fit them well, providing fellowship and guidance to others along the way. She is a graduate from National University of Health Sciences, practices acupuncture and chiropractic in rural Virginia, and works to educate the future of healthcare as an anatomy instructor at South University as an adjunct professor.

Serena Norris

BS

Ms. Serena Norris is currently a student at Capella University receiving her master's in clinical mental health counseling. She resides in Rochester, New York while taking her courses online and enjoys training her dogs for therapy in her free time. Serena has been acknowledged for her studies by the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) as well as her chapter association Chi Sigma Iota through Capella University. She also has her own mental health website where she posts weekly blogs on mental health disorders and self-education It's Okay to not be Okay – Mental Health Blogs.