Today I had the pleasure to see this 80 years old gentleman for the second time at the office. Yes, the second time. Few weeks ago I saw him for the first time to go over few treatment options. He had few questions then and some things to think about and also some financing to figure out.
I would have to say that I fell in love with him. He is so polite, so cute, he comes in prepare to take notes, asks great questions and he makes sure he leaves with all of his questions answered. He also has a very cute accent. I love listening to him.
Now, we do schedule an hour appointment to go over treatment options with our patients but this man had me in the office for an hour and a half the first time. His appointment ran over my lunch but I didn’t care, I wanted to make sure he was well taken care of.
When he was scheduled for the second meeting I made sure we scheduled an hour just to be safe even though normally 30 minutes is long enough to meet for the second time. Most of the questions are pretty much answered already at the first meeting. I’m glad I was proactive.
This appointment took another almost hour and a half. Again it ran over my lunch time but it didn’t matter because I needed him to be clear of whats going on with his dental care. He would ask the same questions over and over again to make sure he got it. He would make sure he is following every recommendation we are recommending. He wanted to make sure he is able to afford all treatment recommended.
It was such an honor to be the one helping him. You know why? Because this person seating in my chair could’ve been my dad or my grandfather and I would’ve wanted them to be treated the same way. I would have wanted the person take the time to listen, be patient and not felt taken advantage of. This is why I had such a wonderful time talking to him and making sure he is fully aware of everything.
He is so funny, he will pause and tell me little jokes about whatever will come to mind but he would always remember to go back to where we left off.
This is the first 80 year old man I meet that takes no medications. He tell his doctor when he make a recommendation to tell him how to prevent medical problem so he doesn’t have to take medications and he just follows the directions.
He goes to the hospital parking lot and walks every day. Sometimes more than once. You have no idea how much I have learned from him. Just because we are the knowledgeable provider does not mean patients just learn from us. This is not one way street for me. I learn from our patients too and one thing this man had showed me is patience. Not everyone process information the same way and believe it or not that’s has been a struggle for me. My brain process things pretty quickly and not everyone is the same.
I do practice patience every day. To the point that I have a lot of feedback from family, friends and co-workers telling me how well I do with patience. Believe me I don’t have much, ask people who are very close to me but I do work on it every day. I’m very cautious about it. There are so many things I master that you would think I’m very natural about it and thats not the case. Experience and hard work has helped me.
I encourage you to work on your patience today. People need you to be patient especially the elderly. It is not fair to disregard people’s feelings just because they are slower than you or because you are too busy. We live in a very busy world. Learn how to respectfully dismiss them or always schedule for a second meeting.
Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.
-Joyce Meyer
God bless,
Janitza
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