Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Today

One of my patients -M came today. He has MS. He just found out that his wife has pancreatic cancer. Yesterday, C came in and his wife has pancreatic cancer also. That's too much pancreatic cancer. It's hard to watch them trying to be strong. Men try to be strong when their wives have cancer, but it's hard.
The staff is wonderful. They are doing great. It's a huge difference. The office is getting very organized.
Tomorrow I meet with the hospital administrator who wants to rule the town. One of my colleagues calls her "Queen ___". I'm very happy that after she got all of her employees to stop sending all of their patients here I am doing well. I think that will create a situation in which she has no power to influence me. Unfortunately, I don't think she'll have any influence over the other two neurologists in this town. I don't know how well her plans were thought through.
One of my patients called upset because I told him that the medication I was giving him would be inexpensive and it was $50.00. I have to be careful about that. To me, given what most medications cost that's inexpensive. I found it cheaper on-line for him. Still, I need to be more aware of what these things cost.
That was today.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Doctor, in regard to your staff and your previous posting, there were writings about the "Trickle Down Effect." I am not sure that attitudes are always changed in the course of the management down. I have learned great many things from those in "positions" that are thought of as below me. I have changed by what I have seen from children. I have changed by those who have come in with a fresh attitude. I have been changed by many people in many situations who come from those considered above me and those below me. Maybe this CEO you speak of will be changed by a simple person who has been affected by someone way down the ladder and the attitude works its way up and then back down. Maybe that will be you or maybe it will be the person who cleans the hallway who has an innate talent or a genuine peacefulness that simply teaches them to ignore the insanity that can come from stress. I would call this the Trickle Up to the Trickle Back Down Effect. In the end, we will really never know who or what changes people.

Riverdoc said...

Anonymous: The staff I have hired happen to be amazing. I am starting with great people, so there isn't much "trickling" necessary. There is that quote about surrounding yourself with people who are better than you are - it's a good idea. There is no doubt that my staff may trickle me upward. You are definitely right about ladders- they go both up and down. Other people (CEO or whatever) are tricky. We are supposed to avoid judging other people. "Everything I have I owe to someone" - Pete Seeger. That would include our bad and our good, up and down trickles. So we're supposed to try to honor other people's journeys, wherever they are trickling to. When it appears to us that the journey of the other person is adversely affecting us, then we're supposed to welcome the challenge. That particular plan has been well thought out. But often we fail. It's a good plan, but it's a difficult path.