Top Five Things to be Thankful for at Appalachian Spring Dermatology

Gratitude has been shown to be a healthy habit in tons of scientific studies.  This is my gratitude list for my patients, just in time for Thanksgiving. 

Work and family – I am so thankful that my patients give me grace when balancing work and home life.  As many of you know, I am a mom of two girls, Lily and Ella, who are now 8 and 9 years old (can you believe it!?).  Balancing work life and home life means I work 3 to 4 days a week and try to keep my weekends and evenings free for family time.  Thanks for being understanding as I try to juggle and balance being your doctor and a mom! 

Grace on being late – Why are doctors always running late?  Well, that is a good question and one I try to remedy every day I practice.  The truth is, stuff happens.  Usually, that “stuff” is skin cancer or a bad rash.  We never overbook patients at Appalachian Spring Dermatology, so that’s good.  We do, however, try to accomplish as much as possible in your appointment.  We rarely ask you to come back a different day for a procedure unless it is very complex.  Many of my patients are elderly and require a family member or caretaker to bring them.  Plus, copays can be overwhelming for those on a tight budget.  For these reasons, if patients need a biopsy or a skin cancer treated, we do it at your appointment.  The fun part for me is that I never know what my day holds or who will need a procedure.  The bad part for patients is that sometimes it puts me behind.  Thank you for grace for myself and my staff when we are running late! 

Reading my email and watching my youtube channel – As times and marketing changed, it became clear to me that I needed a better way to keep up with my patients and keep them up to date!  The days of paper newsletters (we did those 2005-2009) and paper handouts in the office are vanishing.  We try to use our weekly email to educate, update, and inspire you in all things dermatology.  I spend a ton of time each week writing the blog post, which is the educational part of the email.  I appreciate your taking the time to open and read these.  Sometimes they won’t apply to you right then, but they are always available to you, your family, and friends when you need them.  In 2019 we started our “Your Best You” campaign, including other health and health-related items in the email with segments from Theresa Hill and information about local health events.  The videos on the youtube channel are designed to augment the email and website to show you things that words can’t fully describe. 

Thanks for not unsubscribing and for sharing these emails or segments with others.  It makes all my writing worthwhile. 

Being kind to my staff – I have a great staff!  Each of them is special to me in a different way.  They all have different personalities, skills, and talents!  Thank you for respecting them and being kind to them.  They don’t make the rules, I do. Everything in the office is designed to provide you with excellent and efficient health care!  Thanks for giving them grace when you don’t like our policies, or you don’t like checking in on the kiosk.  They work as an extension of me!  We try to treat you like family!  Thank you for treating us kindly and respectfully in return!   

Sharing your life with me!  When I was a resident, I went to a lecture where an elderly doctor was talking about how much he loved his work.  He said he liked to think of every day like it was a party and that he was going from room to room socializing with his friends.  Hogwash, I thought then!  But oh, so true and wise was this statesman in dermatology.  I admit I am a little nerdy and still get excited when I get to see something strange or rare.  But the real fun of my day is sharing in your life and you sharing in mine!  Truth be told, it doesn’t take many of my brain cells to check your skin at this stage of my career.  The conversation and sharing keep me going and excited, so thanks!  You, my patients, make my day special, interesting, and like a party each day!   

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