Lesson Learned and Office Closing Wed 3/28/12

Let's start with what may be inconvenient news to our clients - - -
Our Office is Closed Tomorrow, Wed 3/28/12

Elias will check phone messages and emails throughout the day.  He will help you as much as he is able but most messages may have to wait until I get back in the office Thursday.

I am scheduled for an ear surgery tomorrow morning.  I understood it was an outpatient procedure.  A couple hours to recover from anesthesia then I should be fine to go home.

Those of you who had surgery, or experienced it with family members, can probably already see the mistake(s) I made.

I have done countless surgeries on our patients but have never been on the receiving end myself.  Unbeknownst to me, in human medicine, outpatient surgery just mean I would not be admitted in hospital - - -  not that it would be a quick procedure under sedation or "light anesthesia."  I had thought I'll miss tomorrow morning but will be back in the office in the afternoon to at least answer emails and calls.  Fortunately, I called the nurse to confirm the surgery details yesterday.  She could not answer my questions so the surgeon called me today.  To be honest, the nurses were probably getting annoyed by all my questions - - -  it was my third call in as many weeks.
The bottom line is I cannot work at all tomorrow so the office will be closed. 

The nurses were nice and tried to answer my questions the times I called in preparation for the surgery.  They just were not clear on my concerns and I just did not know enough to ask the right questions.

The experience made me realize the same thing can happen to our clients and patients.  Most of our procedures are routine and familiar to clients with previous pets.  But there are clients who may be going through the procedures for the first time with their pets.  And just as with my (in)experience, they may not know what to ask to prepare for their pets before and after a procedure, especially a surgery.

We always end our instructions to our clients with "Let us know if you have any questions or concerns."  But this experience reminds me to continue to make an effort to understand the pet's home environment to help anticipate potential issues.

I am sure I'll have more learning moments in the days ahead....