Spin Questioning Technique For Podiatrists
As a podiatrist working with a patient, you are generally in a diagnostic situation by necessity. Likewise, you may often need to get to the root of an issue with your team.
The S.P.I.N framework is a useful tool for getting to the heart of a problem with either your podiatry patients or your team.
S.P.I.N is an acronym for
- Situation
- Problem
- Implication
- Need
and refers to the types of questions you should ask to get to the heart of an issue.
The framework was originally developed for use in a sales environment, but the premise for creating the model was that it’s more important to UNDERSTAND than to PERSUADE which is what you need to be able to do as a podiatry practitioner.
Situation Questions
This is where you ask open ended questions. This first stage is really more for you as a podiatrist so you can give some context to the issue that your patient faces. For example, you need to find out where the issue is, what they were doing when it started, and how long it has been an issue. The key is to really listen so that you position yourself as a problem solver rather than a prosecutor.
Problem Questions
The problem type questions allow you to unpack the next layer of issue. For example, the pain in the knee is causing a problem with running.
Implication Questions
These types of questions help you uncover the effects of the problem. They’ll also help you to validate the seriousness of your patient’s issue. It might be that the the real implication of the running problem is that it is undermining your patient’s goal to lose weight, or perhaps to realise a dream to compete in a championship.
These types of questions are best used before talking about solutions, and will really help you build rapport and trust.
Need Questions
This is finally where you can begin to introduce your diagnosis, because these types of questions ask about the value, importance or usefulness of a solution. For example – How much weight could you lose per week if we could fix the problem? or What time could you hope to achieve in the championship if you get back to running in two weeks?
If your patient is excited about the potential results, then they’ll be so much more enrolled in sticking to the treatment plan, and it will end up being a better outcome for everyone.
