10 things you should never say to patients

Author(s):

Austin Littrell

Key Takeaways

Avoiding "never words" is crucial for maintaining psychological safety and open communication between patients and healthcare professionals.
Compassionate communication is integral to the treatment process, helping manage patient emotions and expectations.
The study suggests incorporating communication training into medical education to enhance patient-centered care.
Role models in clinical training can significantly influence the development of effective communication skills in medical students and professionals.

These words and phrases that should never be said to patients, and what to say instead, were covered in a recent Mayo Clinic paper.

An October 2024 paper, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, identified 10 words and phrases as "never words," that clinicians should avoid saying to patients at all times, but particularly during difficult encounters with emotional patients. The paper's authors, from Texas A&M University and Henry Ford Health, emphasized the importance of "compassionate communication" as part of the patient's treatment process.

"Communicating the nature, purpose and intended duration of often complex treatments, and setting realistic expectations about what they offer still comes up against timeless patient experiences: fear, intense emotions, lack of medical expertise and the sometimes unrealistic hope for cure," they wrote in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

It's important for patients and their families to maintain a feeling of psychological safety in their communication with health care professionals and the use of certain "never words" can undermine patients' and their families' abilities to communicate freely, and without fear of judgement.

"'Never words' are conversation stoppers," the authors wrote. "They seize power from the very patients whose own voices are essential to making optimal decisions about their medical care."

Leonard L. Berry, PhD, MBA, a professor of marketing at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School and coauthor of the study expressed his belief that patient relations and discussion should be incorporated into courses and professional development.

"The emphasis in medical school is understandably on the science of medicine, but it is so important to incorporate communications training into the curriculum," Berry said in a university release. "A key opportunity is medical school students and graduates having superb patient-centered, skilled communicators as role models in their clinical training during medical school and residency."