Hitting a Brick Wall

Have you ever dealt with someone who would not compromise or budge to help you? This recently happened to me. Even though it made me very angry and frustrated, it taught me a valuable lesson. There are going to be times in our professional and personal lives when someone is not going to work with you, no matter what you do. When this happens, there are things you can do.

1. Walk away from the situation for awhile. Give yourself time to think about what can be done.

2. Don't argue with them. It just makes the situation worse. At this point, they are not going to be reasonable anyway.

3. Don't take it personally. There are going to be people out there who will not see things your way no matter what.

4. And if all else fails, go along with what has to be done. Put it behind you and move on.

When I was a clinical reviewer, there were times when I had to follow my company's guidelines in order to precertify a radiology test. If I didn't, I faced consequences, perhaps jeopardizing my job. But I treated each caller with respect, even though they would sometimes be very frustrated and angry. For me, it would always come down to the patient. I would imagine that every patient could be one of my loved ones. That helped me to be empathetic. It helped me to compromise and find other solutions. Because, I didn't want to be someone else's brick wall.