By Laura Chonko, OD, HHC, FONS, of Lorain, Ohio
If you’re thinking about the next step you should take, here are some ideas that I have found to be helpful.
1. Show gratitude. Even if you’re not in the practice setting you desire or your business isn’t where you’d like it to be, be grateful. What we focus on expands. If you’re in a rut, start by writing down three things that you appreciate about the profession or your day.
2. Add a new element. This could be a piece of equipment or a new specialty like vision therapy or nutrition. Click here to read more about my own experience expanding my business into nutrition and health coaching following my training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
3. Focus more on the patient relationship and less on the exam. Maybe this person just needed someone to listen to him or her today, and you were that person.
4. Make sure your cup is full so it overflows to others; you can’t serve from an empty cup. So practice good self-care. Eat well. Sleep. Play often. Take a vacation when you need it. Doing what you love outside the practice will make you a better practitioner. A happy doctor gives off a happy vibration, and patients can sense the vibe you’re giving off.
5. Give back. Take a day to volunteer to serve those less fortunate. Or spend a half day in a classroom educating kids about eye health and safety via the S.O.S. Realeyes program.
