Certainty counters fear!
Why is certainty important?
We really do not like, if we are surprised at a place, that we consider dangerous!
Unfortunately, our examination room is their dungeon.
As I have mentioned before, it is essential to alter the mental picture for the child, switching the image of a torture chamber into something more appealing like an adventure place.
Not only is the place scary, also the doctor!
We really do not want to be surprised when we go to the doctor!
We need to shift the child’s perception of us. They often see the medical professional as the judge of their health.
Alternatively, we need to trigger a mental picture of us, as their guide, who comes alongside them on their health care journey.
This base-line concept of doctors as “bastards” is true for any child, so connection and providing certainty as early in the encounter as possible is crucial. When I manage to trigger curiosity at the same moment, that would be even better.
How I do it!
My practical approach here is: I am going to show them ear-television! I tell the child, that they will be able to see their ears in my ear-nose-throat practice. And together we then will show their ear to their mum/ dad.
That phrase is my standard phrase to get both results: providing certainty and triggering curiosity.
What is the effect of these sentences?
By telling the child that they will show their parents something new, I additionally emphasize the status of the child during the consultation.
This brief conversation, while still in the waiting area, is finished off with the invitation to give me a “high-five” of agreement.
Most children under 12 years will have decided, by this moment, that I might be a friend, and they are happy sharing a “high-five” with me.
What is the principle here?
When I explain the next step to the child, they know what to expect and this counters the fear they might have.
Certainty counters fear!
I need to break down my next steps into chunks that the child can take in.
In essence, I need to speak their language.
What about teenagers?
This approach is only slightly altered with teenagers. I often admit that my invitation to “ear-television” might be slightly “childish”, but most of them (and their parents) are curious about what might be visible inside an ear. Immediately, I admit that they are cool, and I am not! I apologize, that they have come to the least cool doctor in the hospital.
Occasionally, the teenager graces me with a limited smile.
This is a rare gesture from the “cool” generation, but that will not go unnoticed and will be positively praised!
How much time does this cost?
I am happy to go to quite some length for this first precious moment because: We do not have a second chance for a first impression!
Nowadays, it takes me routinely about 10 -15 seconds, for any child, that meets me for the first time to forge a connection, and to gain their trust by providing certainty as described above.
In a nutshell:
Certainty counters fear!
Certainty is granted by explaining the steps of the consultation in the child’s language.
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