Can you keep cool when you receive a complaint about your work?

Complaints are part and parcel of every profession. No matter how common they may be and how hard you work to avoid them, the anxiety that you’ll get one is always there. It’s even more nerve-wracking if you work in healthcare. Often, complaints come with threats of referral to a professional regulator. All of a sudden, your career might be on the line.

This week, Dr Annalene Weston of Dental Protection Australia joins us to discuss how to stop taking complaints personally. We talk about the thought process that comes with patient complaints and discuss strategies on how to depersonalise and best deal with them.

If you want to know the mindset shift that will change how you deal with complaints., listen to our full conversation in this episode of You Are Not a Frog.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Learn the root of practitioners’ fear of receiving a complaint.
2. Find out how you can shift your mindset around getting complaints.
3. Discover the value of support when dealing with complaints inside and outside your control.

Episode Highlights

[04:41] Getting More Complaints in Healthcare

[10:19] Getting Affected by Complaints Even When You’re Not at Fault

[13:39] Fear of Complaint

[18:42] Mindset Shift around Getting a Complaint

[25:15] Understanding It from the Patient’s Point of View

[34:21] Being Right vs Being Good in a Relationship

[38:49] Dealing with Things Outside Your Control

[43:20] Getting Struck Off

[45:36] What Helps When Dealing with Complaints

[53:42] How to Depersonalise Complaints

[57:57] Annalene’s Top Three Tips in Dealing with Complaints

[1:01:04] Forgive Yourself

Resources

• Dental Protection Australia
• Connect with Dr Annalene Weston: LinkedIn | Twitter
• Episode 78: Complaints and How to Survive Them Ep1: Preparing to Fail Well with Drs Sarah Coope, Annalene Weston and Sheila Bloomer
• Episode 80: Complaints and How to Survive Them Ep2: What to Do When You Make a Mistake with Drs Clare Devlin and Dr John Powell
• Episode 82: Complaints and How to Survive Them Ep3: Surviving the Process with Drs Jessica Harland, Caroline Walker, and Heidi Mounsey
• Frederik Imbo: How not to take things personally | TED Talk
• Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury
• Download our free ‘Just Say No’ toolkit
• THRIVE Weekly Planner
• Sign up here to receive a link to the episode workbook and CPD form downloads for each podcast. You can use them for reflection and to submit for your appraisal.

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Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Anti-Burnout System

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