Over the past couple weeks, we have had a different experience with the healthcare field than we have had in the past. We have always been relatively healthy and therefore haven’t had too many scary encounters with that area of our lives. I think everyone would agree that is a good thing. I realized that it had me fooled in a way though, and being thrust into that position has led to me looking at our office in a whole new light (I still wish we could have avoided those issues, but making lemonade out of the lemons is a good usage right?).
In the past I had always thought that the most important thing about being a doctor was knowing the answers. With this thought, I have spent a lot of time and energy studying anything that will help our patients out. Nutrition, chronic disease, neurology and a whole host of other things have caught my attention over the past few years and I have spent an incredible amount of time mastering those skills. I still have a ways to go, as evidenced by the past couple of weeks, but I know this journey will never be complete.
The thing that I learned through this ordeal is that caring is JUST as important as knowing the answers. I have always cared about all of you, but this incident makes me want to do more. Where have I let y’all down? Did I not know an answer and not dig deeply enough into the research to find the right answer? Did I come off as a little insensitive to what you needed at that point? Was I not at that top of my game on a certain day?
Your health is our business. Being a part of such a small community, I consider you all friends too. I spend so much time working to improve my craft because I don’t want to let y’all down. I know there are times that I need to be a better communicator in the office though. I need to show more empathy. I need to have more answers.
Actions speak louder than words. It is easy for me to say that I will never give up on you. Being there for you when you need it is where the rubber meets the road, though. I hope you never feel as let down as I was in my experience.
Knowledge is great, but caring is exceptional.