Difficult Conversations Podcast

Lessons I Learned as an ICU Physician

Episode 135 | March 16, 2021

Conversations About Doctoring

Dr. Bradley Block

ENT & Host of Physicians Guide to Doctoring

Bradley Block

Hello and welcome to Difficult Conversations with Dr. Anthony Orsini. Today, I have as my guest, Dr. Bradley Block, an Otolaryngologist, Head and Neck Surgeon, and partner at ENT and Allergy Associates in Long Island, NY. He is also host and creator of the very successful, Physician’s Guide to Doctoring Podcast. His podcast interviews physicians and non-physician experts to help teach us as he says, “What we should have been learning while we were memorizing Krebs cycle.” The Physician’s Guide to Doctoring is a practical guide for practicing physicians, physicians in training, and all allied health professionals. Topics range from personal finance, to politics, to improving interactions with patients.

Dr. Block starts by telling us about what he’s learned from his podcast guests and specifically there’s been a lot of discussion on physician burnout. He tells us about saying “yes” to the few things you are passionate about, “no” to everything else, and the importance of building relationships. Dr. Orsini and Brad also share stories about the importance of getting along with patients and team members, how banter builds relationships and referrals, and how important patient experience and patient satisfaction scores are today. Brad shares a story about how the patient is the star of the show and he tells us a great quote that relates to humor. . Dr. Orsini talks about the importance of just being a genuine person and finding commonality with people, and Dr. Block stresses how important it is to know the names of people, their family members, and little things about them. We learn about a guest Brad had on his podcast, Blake Eastman, who talked about interest and authority, which are two things he thought were key to nonverbal communication. Dr. Orsini mentions a book worth checking out by Amy Cuddy and the interesting things she found out about nonverbal language. Brad shares great advice of how “the patient is the star of the show.” We end with Dr. Block telling us the most difficult type of conversation he’s had and shares some incredible advice. If you enjoyed this podcast, please hit the subscribe button to find out more about what we do and how we teach communication.

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