A speaker friend of mine speaks on the power of one’s story, and when I think about patient experiences, I think of the stories we tell.  We all love to share healthcare stories – especially negative ones.  Side note: Research shows that when we experience something negative, we repeat it up to 14 times and each time we repeat it our bodies experience a chemical reaction as if it just happened. Read more…

Perception Strategies provides each of its clients with examples of extraordinary employee behaviors that result in a mystery shopper nominating the employee for an Extra Mile Award. Recently, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston wrote about the Extra Mile Awards their employees received in an issue of their publication AMBULATIONS. Read more…

On December 23, 2011, I sat up on the edge of the exam table after enduring a 40-minute needle biopsy and said to the physician, “I know you can’t tell me the details without the results, but do you think it might be cancer?”  Without hesitation she said, “No, it is cancer.”  My first thought to myself was, “Well, Merry Christmas to me!”  However, this was closely followed by, “I am going to lose my long blonde hair” and then I began to cry.

While the thought of chemo terrified me, the thought of losing my hair caused me even more anguish!   My husband likes to tell people that, in the big picture order of things, losing my hair is several notches above dying.  While he is attempting humor, he knows and I know it is not that far from the truth. Read more…