Ask an NP – When Patients Don't Follow My Recommendations

00:01 So as an FNP, when someone doesn't want to or doesn't decide that they want to follow recommendations that would necessarily improve their health, honestly, it doesn't really bother me because it all goes back to your job is not to make decisions for people.

00:15 It's just to lay out the options.

00:17 And sometimes people are just not going to want to take those options.

00:20 Educating them on the risks and the benefits, and letting them decide is really your whole job.

00:25 And it took me a minute to get to the place where I was not personally offended that people didn't want to take all of my recommendations that I put out there.

00:32 But at the end of the day you pretty quickly realize all you can do is offer the information.

00:38 And if they get to a point later, where they want to pick it back up, then that's great.

00:43 But you being non-judgmental in just like, "Hey, this is what's here. Here's the risks. Here's the benefits.

00:48 Come back and talk to me if you ever want to change your mind.

00:51 I was shocked sometimes when people came back and they're like, I think I'm ready to have that conversation and do the things now, but also felt comfortable knowing that it's everyone's live and they get to live it however they want and at least you put the information out there and they get to do with it what they want.