How to Stay Calm through Complaints (Even When It’s Personal)

Episode • Apr 18, 2023 • 1h 5m

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:

Learn the root of practitioners’ fear of receiving a complaint.
Find out how you can shift your mindset around getting complaints.
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