My day in OPD is a constant flux of several patients, each being is a unique amalgamation of concerns, perceptions and attitudes. The brief interaction with each of them involves decoding the necessary information and emotionally engage with them to help them bring about lifestyle changes. The challenge is to engage with them but maintain a certain degree of detachment.  The most important thing is to be careful not be affected by compliments. Compliments are traps for two important reasons. The first reason is for my own benefit.  If I get affected by a compliment, then I am also prone to be affected by negative feedbacks. So the compliments or criticisms need to be taken as they are-OPINIONS, not an assessment of myself.
The second reason is for patients’ own good. When we treat patients in corporate world’s terminology ‘customer satisfaction’ is considered the most important. However, the basic difference between hospitality and hospital industry is that patients’ health is more important than patients’ satisfaction. Often these two are not the same things.
Sometimes I may want the patient to take multiple insulin injections for best control of his diabetes and long term health benefits, while his immediate concern is the inconvenience and interference with his routine. Sharing my knowledge and lending a new perspective may help, but human mind is a complex thing and changes are difficult to accept and adapt.
But in life threatening situations like need for insulin in type 1 diabetes, I may have to be stern like a parent sometimes to deal with human irrationality when their short shortsightedness considers injecting insulin to be more painful than say the need for dialysis in distant future. Here I may have to risk being disliked by the patient for his/her own benefit.
All said and done, sincere compliments make me feel really good, as long as need for compliments do not prevent me from doing what is right!