Making a decision

"What do you think I should do?"
[Question to the Card via wikimedia]

Too many choices makes me feel overwhelmed. As a patient, when I ask a student doctor "What do you think I should do?" there are two good options:

1. Tell me what you think I should do based on your best understanding of my needs and yours. This will make me feel as if my request was heard and I can use this information as input into the decision I will eventually need to make. 

2. Ask me more questions to help me differentiate between the options so I can more clearly choose the right one for me. This will keep me engaged in the conversation and will give me confidence and clarity when I finally make my decision.

But sometimes learners who are really trying to maintain a patient-focused interview will say something like: "Well, I can't decide for you. Only you can do that. Everyone is different." And then stop.

The intent is good, but a statement like this should be the beginning of change talk, not the end! If the conversation ends here, I will feel unsupported, guilty for asking, and less confident in the student doctor. I will likely delay the decision until meeting with members of my support network, or I will defer the decision indefinitely. So use this phrase only as a preface before moving onto one of the other two options.

Homework assignment:
How do informed consent and the power differential contribute to this dynamic? Please write your answers in the space provided below. ;)