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Although I am very good when I eventually get to their office, admittedly I am not a good patient when it comes to making appointments. For whatever reason, schedule, travel, excuses, I manage to ignore texts, phone calls, emails basically begging me to come in. On a level equivalent to my aversion to gas station sushi, I delay. This happened recently with my dentist. Months back, I went to get two crowns (old hockey injuries) replaced. Despite their protests, I insisted on getting both temporary crowns done in one visit. In the months since the temporary crowns were put in, that team tried, in vain, to get me back in to complete the work. “I’m busy. Sorry, I don’t have time this week” and “Hopefully, next week” is a synopsis of my typical response. Fast forward to this past Friday when I received a text around 10:30 am. ‘The Doctor has an opening at noon, I know you are really busy, but is there any way you could break away and come in?’ Looking quickly at my calendar, I replied, ‘I can make that work’. The response ‘Thank you! You’re the best patient ever!’ I seriously doubt this is the case, however, my dentist was equally complimentary, talking about how much he appreciated me coming in so we could get this done. When it comes to medical care, patients and their families have a myriad of emotions and approaches. There are good patients and difficult patients. Teach your team that every opportunity to care for someone is a gift and no matter the situation, compliments can go a long way. What if every patient felt like they were your team’s favorite? How much easier would it be for that person to rave about you to friends and family? How many compliments does your team give daily? How many should they?