You pose the question
- You know the importance of the influenza vaccination
- You ask the all-important question and it hasn’t quite gone as planned
Have you had this type of conversation?
You: Can I Just ask, Sarah, have you had your influenza vaccination this year?
Patient: No, I haven’t. After all, it’s only flu
Conversation over? Where can you go next?
When you ask the question about the influenza vaccination, you are likely to receive one of the four types of responses;
When a patient accepts a vaccination recommendation, affirm the reduction of risk.
If the patient has plans to get vaccinated elsewhere (through work, perhaps), inquire about where and when they plan to get the vaccination and reinforce their plan.
BUT…what about when a patient REJECTS a vaccination recommendation?
If the patient is hesitant about or resistant to getting vaccinated, avoid;
- Trying to overload the patient with information, carrying out the ‘data dump’
- Telling them what to do. They don’t want the ‘full story’ and this suggests that you are the only one who knows the full story and they do not!
- Trying to persuade the patient. Opening the door to their reasons only builds their resistance – every time they say it out loud reinforces their negativity.
But there is another way…