Patients are different too
compassionate healthcare
communication using the Myers
Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The Myers Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI)
The MBTI is a widely used model of
personality that builds self-awareness and
an appreciation of important differences
between people, demonstrating how
different types can work together in a
complementary way.
Our Community of Practice
The aim of our MBTI Community of Practice
is provide the NHS in Kent, Surrey and
Sussex with in-house expertise in the MBTI.
Our skilled practitioners use the MBTI with
individuals, groups and teams. They offer
the best value for money together with the
benefit of NHS insight and experience, when
compared to external MBTI consultants.
What experience is in the
room?
Experience of the MBTI?
Direct patient contact?
Been/are a patient or carer?
Key messages
 It is important to recognize, understand and
value different styles of communication.
 If we can understand and value different
approaches we may unlock qualities in both
ourselves and the other person which will
allow us to work more effectively together
 Within the health care setting communication
is fundamental to good care and good team
work
Dissatisfaction and complaints often
relate more to what was said (or the way
it was said) than what was done
The Golden Rule
Do unto others as you would
have them do to you
But
 Often how you want others to treat you is
very different from how your colleagues,
friends, family and patients want to be
treated
 People are different and patients are
different too
The revised rule
Do unto others as they would want done to
them
“Compassion (in nursing) involves
focusing on another person’s needs
and channeling the emotion
generated into an active response”
(Davison & Williams, 2009)
Exercise
Reflect for a few moments on your own
experience as a patient, preferably one good
experience and one less good. It may help to
make some notes. Taking the good experience
first, consider:
 What struck you as particularly positive
about this exchange?
Turning to the less good experience:
 What was it you found difficult about this
exchange?
Our assumptions
 People prefer to communicate in different
ways
 Most people have a preferred style of
communication
 It is easier to communicate with some people
than it is with others
 A system exists which provides a simple
framework for understanding these
differences
The three stages of ‘flex care’
1. Identifying your own preferred styles of
communication
2. Tuning in to the other person’s current
communication needs
3. Adjusting (or ‘flexing’) your approach, if
necessary, to match those needs
Knowing you
An awareness of your own preferred
behaviour makes it easier for you to
understand your own part in the
communication
Everyday communication
 We all use all the preferences in everyday
communication – we just differ by order and
emphasis – this is what we call personality
preference
THE MBTI PREFERENCES
Extraversion
or
Introversion
Where you prefer to get and focus your ‘energy’ or attention
Sensing
or
iNtuition
What kind of information you prefer to gather and trust
Thinking
or
Feeling
What process you prefer to use in coming to decisions
Judging
or
Perceiving
How you prefer to deal with the world around you, your ‘lifestyle’
Extraversion and Introversion –
behaviour cues
Talk it out
 Rapid speech
 Appears to ‘think aloud’
 Interrupts
 Louder volume of voice
Think it through
 Pauses while giving
information
 Quieter voice volume
 Shorter sentences – not
run on
Sensing and iNtuition –
behaviour cues
Specifics
 Asks for step-by-step
information or instruction
 Asks, “what”, “how”
questions
 Uses precise descriptions
 Shows interest in factual
details
Big Picture
 Asks for current and longrange implications
 Asks “why” questions
 Talks in general terms
 Wants multiple options
Thinking and Feeling –
behaviour cues
Logical Implications
 Appears to be “testing
you” or your knowledge
 Weighs the objective
evidence
 Not impressed that others
have decided in favour
 Conversations follow a
pattern of logic – “if this,
then that”
Impact on People
 Strives for harmony in
interaction
 May talk about what they
value
 Asks how others
acted/resolved the
situation
 Matters to them whether
others have been taken
into account
Thinking – logical implications
When I visit the doctor, I want to know she
really understands my case, is experienced
and knowledgeable about it. I don’t want
her to humour me, just give me information
about my problem and what can be done
about it. I want to be treated as an
intelligent adult and that means being told
the truth
Feeling – impact on people
I prefer it if the doctor knows about me and
my case and shows an interest in me
personally. I want to know about my
condition and how other people have
reacted to the proposed treatment. I prefer
a kindly approach, sometimes I feel hurt by
blunt comments.
Judging and Perceiving
behaviour cues
Joy of Closure
 Consistently early or on
time for appointments
 Impatient with overly long
descriptions or
procedures. The tone is
“let’s get it done”.
 May even decide
prematurely
 Uses “ed” words: “looked,
compared, evaluated”
Joy of Perceiving
 May be late for appointments
or forget the time during an
appointment
 Seems to want “space” to
make own decisions
 Feels put off by closing a
conversation before they’re
ready
 Generally won’t decide until
the last moment
 Uses “ing” words; “looking,
comparing, exploring”
EXERCISE
 In your good and less good examples, can
you identify any behaviour cues exhibited
by the practitioner? Do they match your
own preferences? If they didn’t match
how did this affect your interaction?
 Discuss with your neighbour
FLEX TALK
A FOCUS ON HOW OTHERS COMMUNICATE
 This is important because
– Effective communication requires that we tune in to other people
– There are two important parts to our work:
1.
2.
The WHAT - the skills/knowledge/experience we bring to interactions
The HOW – the way in which we interact and communicate
– Communication is increasingly important
•
Services and expectations are developing ever faster and often have to
be discussed in the context of financial and time constraints. As the
WHAT becomes more complex, the HOW becomes more important
MODE NOT TYPE
 It is impractical for us to ‘type’ with everyone
we meet
 Type is simply a preference, we may not
always be ‘in type’
– If we assume that because we know someone’s
type we will always experience them in the same
way, we could be misled
 We are looking for a type ‘mode’; what that
person needs at a certain moment
Stages of Interacting
1.
Initiating the interaction
2.
Investigating needs
3.
Suggesting a course of
action
4.
Obtaining agreement &
closing
The four-part FLEX framework
STAGES
PREFERENCES
Initiating
E – Talk it out
I – Think it through
Investigating
and
Suggesting
ST – facts with
Practicality
SF – personal service
NF – support their
vision
NT – logical options
Next steps or closing
J – joy of closure
P – joy of processing
Our Health Care
Communications Using
Personality Type Programme
 Provides an in-depth understanding of your
personality type and preferred
communication style
 Teaches ways in which you can learn to
FLEX your approach to match the needs of
patients
 Provides help in using this framework at work
to improve communications and provide
better outcomes for patients (and less stress
for you and your teams)
EXERCISE TO TAKE AWAY
Consider now what your own preferences
might be and how they might affect your
communication with the patients (or
colleagues) with whom you are working.
Is there any connection between your needs
as a patient and the way you tend to give
information to your patients?