I enthusiastically accepted an invitation to speak at the 10th Annual Medical-Scientific Conference on Morgellons Disease, organized by the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation, knowing that, one way or another, it would be a memorable experience. (I discussed the condition and the meeting in my Chief Medical Editor’s Message in the June 2017 issue). Here I discuss my lecture and attendee reaction to it.
What kind of lecture can a dermatologist who thinks Morgellons is a delusion offer to a Morgellons patient conference? We agreed the topic would be, “How to have a better visit with your physician.” This seemed like it could be a useful, noncontroversial topic. And I think it would have gone well, had not a previous speaker, in describing a documentary he is making on Morgellons disease, shown a video clip of me saying that I treat my Morgellons patients with antipsychotic drugs. I had been thrown under the bus.
The response to my lecture was a wonderfully intense exercise in how to manage criticism, sarcastic comments, emotional outbursts, and displays of unbridled anger and contempt in a public forum. Helpful suggestions I had made in the lecture were either ignored or misinterpreted by audience members who had been primed to dislike me and anything I might say. What is the best way to manage situations like this?
Arguably, a very good way to manage conflict situations is to avoid the conflict in the first place. What dermatologist in his or her right mind would agree to speak at a Morgellons patient conference? When we dive into emotionally laden situations, we may land in a conflict zone. Perhaps we can avoid conflicts by avoiding those situations, but doing so comes at the expense of losing potential opportunities to help others.
Conflicts will invariably occur in medical practices, and when they do, we should have the tools to manage them as best we can. Our initial reaction to criticism will often be to feel attacked, to get defensive, and to go on the offensive. That’s my natural inclination, one I managed to largely suppress at the Morgellons meeting.
Instead of being defensive, understanding the feelings that cause other people to criticize and attack can help lead to a much less confrontational response. We all recognize the horrific distress and frustration patients suffer when they have Morgellons disease (or delusions of parasitosis, whichever you think it is); this knowledge makes it easier to empathize with them. An empathic response, which does not always come naturally, may help deescalate the conflict, though if our patient’s existing biases against us are strong, it may take considerable effort and skill to be perceived as caring and empathetic. But it is certainly worth a try.
If this is a skill you want (or need) to develop, check out Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life.1
Steven R. Feldman, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Editor
Dr Feldman is with the Center for Dermatology Research and the Departments of Dermatology, Pathology, and Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC.
Reference
1. Rosenberg MB. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. 3rd ed. Encinitas, CA: PuddleDancer Press; 2015.
I enthusiastically accepted an invitation to speak at the 10th Annual Medical-Scientific Conference on Morgellons Disease, organized by the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation, knowing that, one way or another, it would be a memorable experience. (I discussed the condition and the meeting in my Chief Medical Editor’s Message in the June 2017 issue). Here I discuss my lecture and attendee reaction to it.
What kind of lecture can a dermatologist who thinks Morgellons is a delusion offer to a Morgellons patient conference? We agreed the topic would be, “How to have a better visit with your physician.” This seemed like it could be a useful, noncontroversial topic. And I think it would have gone well, had not a previous speaker, in describing a documentary he is making on Morgellons disease, shown a video clip of me saying that I treat my Morgellons patients with antipsychotic drugs. I had been thrown under the bus.
The response to my lecture was a wonderfully intense exercise in how to manage criticism, sarcastic comments, emotional outbursts, and displays of unbridled anger and contempt in a public forum. Helpful suggestions I had made in the lecture were either ignored or misinterpreted by audience members who had been primed to dislike me and anything I might say. What is the best way to manage situations like this?
Arguably, a very good way to manage conflict situations is to avoid the conflict in the first place. What dermatologist in his or her right mind would agree to speak at a Morgellons patient conference? When we dive into emotionally laden situations, we may land in a conflict zone. Perhaps we can avoid conflicts by avoiding those situations, but doing so comes at the expense of losing potential opportunities to help others.
Conflicts will invariably occur in medical practices, and when they do, we should have the tools to manage them as best we can. Our initial reaction to criticism will often be to feel attacked, to get defensive, and to go on the offensive. That’s my natural inclination, one I managed to largely suppress at the Morgellons meeting.
Instead of being defensive, understanding the feelings that cause other people to criticize and attack can help lead to a much less confrontational response. We all recognize the horrific distress and frustration patients suffer when they have Morgellons disease (or delusions of parasitosis, whichever you think it is); this knowledge makes it easier to empathize with them. An empathic response, which does not always come naturally, may help deescalate the conflict, though if our patient’s existing biases against us are strong, it may take considerable effort and skill to be perceived as caring and empathetic. But it is certainly worth a try.
If this is a skill you want (or need) to develop, check out Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life.1
Steven R. Feldman, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Editor
Dr Feldman is with the Center for Dermatology Research and the Departments of Dermatology, Pathology, and Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC.
Reference
1. Rosenberg MB. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. 3rd ed. Encinitas, CA: PuddleDancer Press; 2015.
I enthusiastically accepted an invitation to speak at the 10th Annual Medical-Scientific Conference on Morgellons Disease, organized by the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation, knowing that, one way or another, it would be a memorable experience. (I discussed the condition and the meeting in my Chief Medical Editor’s Message in the June 2017 issue). Here I discuss my lecture and attendee reaction to it.
What kind of lecture can a dermatologist who thinks Morgellons is a delusion offer to a Morgellons patient conference? We agreed the topic would be, “How to have a better visit with your physician.” This seemed like it could be a useful, noncontroversial topic. And I think it would have gone well, had not a previous speaker, in describing a documentary he is making on Morgellons disease, shown a video clip of me saying that I treat my Morgellons patients with antipsychotic drugs. I had been thrown under the bus.
The response to my lecture was a wonderfully intense exercise in how to manage criticism, sarcastic comments, emotional outbursts, and displays of unbridled anger and contempt in a public forum. Helpful suggestions I had made in the lecture were either ignored or misinterpreted by audience members who had been primed to dislike me and anything I might say. What is the best way to manage situations like this?
Arguably, a very good way to manage conflict situations is to avoid the conflict in the first place. What dermatologist in his or her right mind would agree to speak at a Morgellons patient conference? When we dive into emotionally laden situations, we may land in a conflict zone. Perhaps we can avoid conflicts by avoiding those situations, but doing so comes at the expense of losing potential opportunities to help others.
Conflicts will invariably occur in medical practices, and when they do, we should have the tools to manage them as best we can. Our initial reaction to criticism will often be to feel attacked, to get defensive, and to go on the offensive. That’s my natural inclination, one I managed to largely suppress at the Morgellons meeting.
Instead of being defensive, understanding the feelings that cause other people to criticize and attack can help lead to a much less confrontational response. We all recognize the horrific distress and frustration patients suffer when they have Morgellons disease (or delusions of parasitosis, whichever you think it is); this knowledge makes it easier to empathize with them. An empathic response, which does not always come naturally, may help deescalate the conflict, though if our patient’s existing biases against us are strong, it may take considerable effort and skill to be perceived as caring and empathetic. But it is certainly worth a try.
If this is a skill you want (or need) to develop, check out Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life.1
Steven R. Feldman, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Editor
Dr Feldman is with the Center for Dermatology Research and the Departments of Dermatology, Pathology, and Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC.
Reference
1. Rosenberg MB. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. 3rd ed. Encinitas, CA: PuddleDancer Press; 2015.
