Imagine 100% perfect patient compliance. Sound interesting?
If you’re inclined to hijack a patient’s free will so they make the choices you think would be in their best interests, perfect patient follow-through probably sounds attractive.
But not so fast. You’d probably tire of this god-like omniscience after a week or two. Practice would quickly become tedious as patients show up as mindless automatons obeying your every wish. Dig deeper and you’ll discover that once you enjoy high levels of clinical certainty, it’s actually the creativity and resourcefulness needed to communicate with patients and lead them to higher levels of health and understanding that makes practice interesting and rewarding.
Allowing practice to degenerate into getting patients to do your bidding crosses a boundary that becomes parental, emotionally draining and ultimately, unsustainable. Following your orders is hardly as fulfilling as inspiring patients to assume greater responsibility, acting volitionally to enhance their health and well-being.