A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

In 1993 when I started my clinic I was young and single with so much in life that would change in the next 20 years. The snap shot that one would take of my personal life would be very different than it would be currently. From the very beginning of my life as an Audiologist I was always very comfortable sharing a view into my personal life as my patients and I got to know each other, so it was not out of character for the proud new father to have his office plastered with pictures of his newborn son in1995. Even in the beginning the effect on my patients was a significant one. As was often the case the initial conversation I would have with my patients would center around those pictures.  In the next ten years we had five more children, all of them boys, yes that is six boys in ten years. My office wall had a great deal of pediatric content with all the pictures of my children that I wished my day to be surrounded with. I had these pictures on the wall for myself so that in the moments I had to myself I could sit back in my chair and take in my family. I could look at a picture and smile as I considered what that look on that child’s face represented. Many of the pictures that were (and are) on my wall have been candid shots of the boys in play, just living life. There are pictures of my two year old on the beach his face plastered in sand stuck to the left over virgin Pinna Colada that he had spilled on his face, or the picture of my three year old at the ski slope happily skiing with his brothers, or my boys held in my embrace, or another boy with a lump of snow on his stuck out tongue with a big smile on his face, or what I think is my patients favourite the picture of one of my boys dangling a big juicy worm over his mouth as his brothers had dared him to eat it after seeing the movie “How to Eat Fried Worms”, and yes I think he ate it. I have come to understand over the years what a profound effect those pictures have had on all that have seen them. The grandparent that walks in my office can’t help but relate to their grandchildren, the parent to their own children and their experiences and so on.  There is an interesting phenomenon that I have observed that has really made me think relating to this topic. When I have toddlers and even babies in office it is amazing to me to see how they tend to gravitate to the things in the office that they relate to such as the pictures of children on the wall, or my not so obviously placed treasure chest or a random toy in the office. . Children seem to notice these things long before adults. I can’t tell you how many children I have had conversations with regarding “the boy eating the worm” as a way of making the child comfortable with this clinical environment. The point is that we all want to have something in common with each other, we wish to relate to and personalize the health professionals we come in contact with, there is a need to humanize the interactions that we have in a potentially uncomfortable professional environment. This understanding has been one that has become apparent to me over the years and as a result we now have in our clinic intentional processes and directives to enable our staff to engage our patients from the moment they reach out to us. When we hire, we hire staff that enjoy getting to know other people, that have a very real and authentic approach to the relationships they build. It is human nature to work harder for those that we connect with and know, which is why I love the fact that my staff take great joy in getting to know each and every patient that they come in contact with.