Know the Risks and Benefits
When I started practice, I hated the word “protocol.” Fast forward 10 years and it’s still not my favorite word, but I have learned to respect its power.
Protocols are critical to standardizing and scaling your practice. Yet, they can function as a box for you to live in or a microscope from which you view the world. I don’t think anyone wants to live in box or miss the vast beauty of the world, so we have to know the risks and benefits.
We say it all the time…
- “Patients aren’t textbooks.”
- “Don’t grow up trying to be another doctor.”
- “Take ownership of your outcomes.”
- “Take off the blinders.”
These are all directions that protocols can lead toward if they are followed too strictly. But if we don’t have them, we risk flying around in a chaotic work environment that is sure to breed burn-out.
So, if we are going to have protocols we need to be mindful of their intent. Protocols should…
- set your tendencies so you can work with confidence
- firmly set you subconscious so you can see the bigger picture while you are working on the small part.
- strengthen your Red & Yellow Flag awareness
- standardize your practice for scalability.
Whatever your protocols are or will become, please ensure that you take the risks and necessities into consideration. Doing so will help you build the patient-centered practice you’ve always wanted.
Good Luck and #keepmoving
Dr.J