Some healthcare facilities in the U.S. mainland also consider today as "National Doctors' and Mid-Level Providers' Day". Mid-level providers are our Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners--they are our "Physician Extenders" and their work must not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Today, I sent a thank-you email to my OB doctor. She is the best OB, ever!!! She has a good bedside manner and she provides thorough explanations to reassure her patients and give them enough information re: their care plan and situation. I'm not a very patient person (working on the "patience virtue" every day) and whenever I'd see that my OB is running late, I'd sit and smile, not minding at all. Why? Because I know exactly why she's running late: she takes time to provide each patient with the best care possible. She definitely is one who goes the extra mile. Yesterday, she even called my husband's phone when I failed to see her calling my phone. She wasn't even in-clinic (she was on hospital duty) that day but she decided to call me about my email, anyway. Frankly, I am not used to this kind of excellent, personalized service from a health managed organization (HMO)...or even from private practice!
I also plan to mail a thank-you card to our Allergist (since I keep on forgetting to get his email address). Earlier this week, he saw our family sitting at the Pharmacy waiting area, waiting for our Travel Medicine and Allergy medications. He waved to get our attention (since I was staring off into a far, far, distance) and the moment we noticed him, he started walking towards us. He asked how one of our sons was doing since he had just gotten the flu shot; he wanted to make sure that our son no longer had an allergic reaction (since he had a severe allergic reaction to it many years back when he was only a year old). How nice was that?!
Of course, I plan to do something special for my husband today (he is working this weekend)--not just because he is a Physician Assistant but more importantly, because he is my husband and best friend!!! My health has gone crazy on multiple roller coaster rides since the day we met (thanks to aging) and he has been taking such good care of me ever since. He has always been by my side, even if it means that he has to cut his day short at the hospital just to visit me at another hospital--in the Emergency Room! We have been to many ER visits together--for each other, for our children, and for our parents and grandparents.
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| "Dear Chair: We meet, again!" - The chair in the office of my Primary Care Physician (PCP) - |
Many others are sadly not just very personable, the experience being very "sterile" at best. It just seems very difficult to establish a human connection, for lack of a better term. I wouldn't want to be like them when I grow up.
Anyway, do take a moment to recognize the people in the profession, most especially those who go the extra mile to make a difference in our lives.
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