Recently, I embarked on what seemed like a straightforward task: moving. I wasn’t moving, but helping my in-laws move from our hometown to where we are now. I thought I could be helpful, I spent a summer or two helping my brother with his moving company. I know my way around a cardboard box and am handy with a dolly too. That said, I was quickly humbled by the situation. I have never lived anywhere longer than 5 years in my adult life (am I the problem?). On the plus side, this means, I know how to move pretty well. On the downside, I don’t collect a lot of stuff. My in-laws, on the other hand, had been in their home for over 20 years! We’re talking deep deep roots!
Nonetheless, they had been dutiful in packing up their lives, and, by the time I got to them, they had rooms full of boxes and looked ready for the task. I estimated that packing up their belongings into a U-Haul truck would take just a couple of hours and we had booked a team for 3 hours. After all, how complicated could it be?
As it turned out, quite complicated.
Despite my confidence, my first indication that we might be in over our heads was my brother who visited and gave a reasonable estimate for how long he thought.
“Take your estimate, and double it.” He said while nodding, “… and then add an hour.”
I laughed dismissively… he did not crack a smile.
When the professional movers showed up the next morning, they quickly assessed the situation and informed me that the process would take significantly longer than the 3 hours we’d scheduled. If you have an older brother or an older sibling, or really any family members at all, you know that I did not enjoy hearing that my brother was right. Sure enough, 7 hours later, we had a packed truck.
[I’m leaving out a lot here because a lot of the moving process sucks, but we had “good moving weather” of a sunny 87 degrees without a cloud in the sky. I was drenched in sweat, my brother (who came by to help after seeing how much work needed to be done) had his shirt drenched, the movers were drenched. We looked like an early 2000s Gatorade commercial or the beginning of a Coors Light Commercial before the ice train bursts through the wall.]
Here’s what I missed that the experts caught. I thought of boxes and other big stuff. They accounted for factors that I hadn’t considered: wrapping fragile items, disassembling furniture, and strategically loading the truck to maximize space and protect belongings—including the oddly shaped, yet cherished, waving Santa decoration that my in-laws just couldn’t part with.
This experience was a humbling reminder of a critical truth: we often underestimate the complexity of tasks outside our expertise.
More importantly, we fail to recognize the depth of knowledge that professionals bring not just in executing tasks, but in understanding the nuances and potential pitfalls that novices overlook.
The Movers in Healthcare
This moving day revelation parallels a pervasive issue in healthcare which is the tendency to second-guess expertise. Patients, administrators, and even policymakers sometimes believe they know better, leading to decisions that can undermine care quality.
For instance, patients might self-diagnose based on internet searches, questioning the necessity of prescribed treatments. Administrators may impose standardized protocols that don’t account for individual patient needs, and insurance companies might deny coverage based on generalized data, disregarding clinical judgment.
Such scenarios erode the trust necessary for effective healthcare delivery. Systems rely on trust.
The Importance of Trust in Medical Relationships
Trust between patients and healthcare providers is not just a nicety, it’s foundational to effective care. Studies have shown that trust influences various aspects of healthcare, including:
- Patient adherence to treatment plans: When patients trust their providers, they’re more likely to follow medical advice and adhere to prescribed treatments.
- Disclosure of pertinent information: Trust encourages patients to share sensitive information, enabling more accurate diagnoses and personalized care.
- Patient satisfaction and experience: Trust enhances the overall patient experience, leading to higher satisfaction rates and better health outcomes.
Research consistently shows that patients who trust their physicians report better health outcomes and are more satisfied with their care.
Cognitive Bias and the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Our tendency to overestimate our understanding of complex tasks is well-documented in psychology, particularly through the Dunning-Kruger effect. This cognitive bias leads individuals with limited knowledge to overrate their competence, while experts may underestimate theirs.
In healthcare, this bias can manifest when non-experts believe that they fully grasp medical complexities, leading to misguided decisions. Acknowledging this bias is the first step toward fostering a culture that values and trusts professional expertise. We must accept the unknown unknown and find a way to rely on those that should know, that aught to know, and trust that they know.
Building a Trust-Based Healthcare System
To cultivate trust within healthcare, several strategies can be employed:
- Enhancing Communication: Open, honest, and empathetic communication between providers and patients builds rapport and trust.
- Shared Decision-Making: Involving patients in their care decisions respects their autonomy and fosters mutual trust.
- Transparency: Clear explanations about diagnoses, treatment options, and potential outcomes demystify the healthcare process.
- Cultural Competence: Understanding and respecting diverse cultural backgrounds can bridge trust gaps in diverse patient populations.
Implementing these strategies requires systemic changes and a commitment to prioritizing trust as a fundamental component of healthcare delivery.
Conclusion
My moving day miscalculation served as a poignant reminder: expertise matters.
And, you can believe me about this because, well, because I’m an expert (at some things anyway). But seriously, the cold war troupe of “Trust, but verify.” should hold for us in healthcare. We do not have to pretend that we are experts in everything and that we know how the system works entirely in order to be effective. We can trust each other, as a default, to make it all come together. In healthcare, trusting professionals by acknowledging their experience, judgment, and knowledge, is crucial for effective, patient-centered care.
By recognizing our own limitations and valuing the expertise of healthcare providers, we can foster a more collaborative, respectful, and effective healthcare system.
Geoffrey Silvera, PhD MHA 