We are all replaceable. Many times when I talk with physicians I ask them for the reasons why they are working so many hours, take only short vacations and keep their spare time to a bare minimum. Their answer typically is, “The patient comes first.” ” My patients need me and if I am not there for them, they won’t know where else to go.” ” This is what is expected from me.”

Years ago, when I moved to the U.S. and started working in corporate America I saw many people take their laptop computers on their vacation because they “needed to stay in the loop”, they were afraid that the department might break down while they are gone and they always wanted to be accessible. When I noticed this unhealthy behavior, I immediately realized that corporate America wasn’t for me long-term. Too many people in this country live to work and miss out on the good things of life.

But this is not the major point I want to make. Instead, I want to share a personal story that happened to me last week and demonstrates that consumers and patients are typically very flexible. If the doctor isn’t available for whatever reason and if patients don’t get what they want and the way they want it, they quickly find a replacement.

This story is not about a human doctor but a veterinarian doctor but the lesson can be applied to any doctor. My German shepherd Cito is having some muscular / skeletal issues. We are not sure whether he has a torn / ruptured ACL or a pulled muscle or anything in between. Basically, he hesitates to run and he won’t jump.

4 years ago he had a subluxated shoulder. An orthopedic vet recommended surgery but fortunately we found Dr. S. in Raleigh, who prescribed 3 weeks of intense physical rehab at his facility in Raleigh, NC. We were extremely pleased with the outcomes of Dr. S.’s services and in the years ahead we recommended several friends to take their dogs to Dr. S.

When we noticed that Cito had issues with his hind legs, we immediately thought of Dr. S. and called his office. I made an appointment a week out (after all they are in Raleigh, I am in Atlanta; this takes a full day out of my week and I needed time to coordinate and reschedule my appointments).

2 days before my appointment I received a phone call from Dr. S.’s office manager that he is on medical leave and at this time they don’t know yet when he will return. She couldn’t even give me an approximate return date.

We have been knowing Dr. S. for 4 years and we got to know him a little bit personally. We know that he works a lot. His office is open 6 days a week, he rarely takes any vacation and he is always there for his patients.
He always walked like an “old” man with a forward-bent back and he told us that he had back surgery. He said,  “I should have done more rehab and I should start exercising but I just don’t have any time. The practice is taking all my time.”

For many years he used his body and didn’t give himself the care he needed and now he is unavailable for his patients for a few months because he was never available for himself.

Could this happen to you?

However, my dog is his patient and my dog needs help and I don’t know how long Dr. S. won’t be out of pocket; so I had to look for a new vet. Sure, I was sad and I was frustrated; after all we felt he is THE ONLY doctor who could truly help our dog. But that doesn’t matter anymore because he has to take care of himself now. He used to put his patients first and himself second and that came with a price.

I found a new / different vet here in the Atlanta area and we have our appointment next week. Hopefully, he is just as good as Dr. S. Once Dr. S. will return to his practice, I believe we will go back to him because we trust him and we like him. Time will tell.

If you think that you have to sacrifice your personal well-being and your life for your patients, think again because that sacrifice will come with a heavy price tag for you. Not for the patients because the patients will be flexible when you are not available. They will adapt, they will find a replacement, they will find a solution until you will become available again or they might not even return to you at all. There is not that much loyalty these days. I hate to say it, but everybody is out for themselves.

Therefore, I encourage you to start today and think about the life that you want to live and then build your career or your practice around it.

If you start to become defensive and hear arguments come up in your mind such as “what about the money, others depend on me, my situation is different” etc. then this is where you want to start the process … if you truly truly want to live a more balanced and peaceful life. Now sure there will be some sacrifices that you have to make for that option but then again you are sacrificing right now as well. Every prize has its price and you have to decide what price you want to pay.

If you are dissatisfied with your career and / or with your life; if you feel burned out or stressed or frustrated with your work, now is the time to change it. It doesn’t do you or your patients any good if you are dissatisfied, moody, grouchy or tired.  Put the number one person of your life first and put your patients second. That will help you and them.

If you don’t know how to do that or where to start, give me a call at 770-428-2334 and I can support you in that.

I am looking forward to your comments,

Iris Grimm