Sweetening the drive

More good news: three gynecologists, a pediatrician, a CPA firm and the pharmacy downstairs are participating.

If you came to our clinic, you'd be surprised. The office is tiny, though we like to think of it as "cozy." The doctor shares his office with Amy, my desk is next to a microwave and a fridge. We talk with one another by shouting back and forth. We do the work of eight: there's no float factor here, no place for sludgery. Compare us to large clinics in fancy areas like Beverly Hills, we're like David facing Goliath. But this is what it takes for a solo practioner to make it in today's healthcare field, where giants with slosh factor prevail.

So we're small, but mighty. We're serious about our work, and we have fun. Two weeks ago, we took bags of tea and cookies to the personnel at the two hospitals where our surgeon works. It's our way of saying thank you to people who make patient care possible. Schedulers, lab analysts, nurses, medical assistants, orderlies, dieticians, radiology and an entire operating room crew. Every patient will have over fifty personnel involved either directly or indirectly with their care. The patient and his or her family will never meet them all, but they are all essential to their care.

And so it came as no surprise to anyone when I walked in with bags of salt water taffy to give to the office managers here in the building where I'll be delivering new flyers today. It's our way of asking, How can you resist?

And if they're not crazy about candy, then certainly they'll certainly get a kick out of our latest flyer. Someone pointed out I misspelled "scrub." Okay, I fess up. I did. No spell check on that one, but the extra "b" looks more medical, does it not? "To scrub" is drudgery, but to wear denim scrubbs is sheer pleasure!

Friday is clinic. Another full day. We'll be wearing our pink shirts.