In medical school, we are taught the 90-second rule: avoid talking during the initial stages of a consult to elicit the patient’s concerns and agenda.

However, it seems we may not do this as well as we think.

I frequently receive patient feedback about how a clinician “only spent five minutes” with them or did not acknowledge their concerns.

As a clinician myself, I understand the inclination to label the patient as the culprit, but I myself have walked away from many of my own medical appointments feeling more unheard than heard.