Ten years ago I delivered the keynote to the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL, a prestigious organization of minimally invasive GYN surgeons) at their 1998 International Convention in Miami. The topic of my talk was “What Do Women Want? A Patient’s Perspective.”
I led 120 surgeons from around the world through some exercises intended to open their minds to new possibilities, because, believe it or not, most surgeons take a L-O-O-N-G time to adopt new ideas or procedures, even those on the leading edge like these innovative laparoscopic surgeons who operate through tiny incisions the size of a keyhole.
Many surgeons would rather stick with the old, tried & true methods, unlike my longtime public relations client, surgeon and friend, Thomas L. Lyons, MD, who had introduced me to the AAGL. He is a true innovator and has developed procedures that he teaches surgeons globally.
www.thomasllyons.com Discerning patients also come to him in Atlanta from everywhere in the world.
In our litigious society, you can hardly blame those who hesitate to try the new—but medicine constantly advances and as patients we’re often stuck with “the way it’s always been done”—unless we know how to advocate for ourselves.
The tried and true methods are often easier on the surgeon and harder on the patient—ie large abdominal incisions with coy names like “bikini incisions” which make patients believe they couldn’t take THAT long to heal.
Caveat Emptor! (Let the buyer beware!)
BEDSIDE MANNERDuring my recent office dredging & reorganizing I discovered my very carefully researched AAGL speech manuscript from 1998. In it I cited historical developments like the discovery of anesthesia in 1770 (nitrous oxide) and ether (1818), which weren’t put into practice until 1846.
Why the delay in using anesthesia? It was an idea before its time.
Some historians have suggested that the delay occurred because patients didn’t need relief from their pain. This was especially deemed true in the case of women, who like savages were regarded as a lower evolutionary order than men, and so perhaps they felt pain less acutely! (Ann Dally, MD, Women Under the Knife: A History of Surgery, Routledge).
In describing “What do women want” I tried to steer surgeons to the notion that women want it ALL from their surgeon—someone to provide emotional support, to compassionately witness and validate the female problems they are enduring—as well as fix the problem.
Some surgeons are not known for their soothing presence— many are male, and they’re technicians, after all, who perform much of their work while the patient is out cold. So the notion of being a counselor may fall into the “not my job” mindset for some.
PRECOGNITION I also suggested that within a matter of years that much surgery would be “out of business” because of the use of energy healing techniques that would eliminate the need for cutting people open to deal with problems.
Several attendees thought my talk was the most important (ie mind-boggling) hour that weekend, and at least one thought it was the biggest crock of BS he’d ever heard!
Actually, what good is a talk to leading medical people in the world if it doesn’t stir up controversy?
One female surgeon asked me what she should do to prepare for this sea change involving energy medicine. NAFTA was just coming into play and plants were closing everywhere as “hands-on” jobs began shifting overseas.
I suggested that she continually learn and refine new skills, like all of us need to do.
VALIDATION TO DREAM BIG DREAMSAlthough I had absolutely no clue how this energy medicine would work, I had read and studied enough about Reiki and other forms of hands-on healing to believe in its refinement and expanded use.
Then, just a few weeks ago, February 2008, my PR consulting firm was contracted to help with public relations and marketing by SightLine Health, the leading company in the US performing MRI-guided focused ultrasound ablation or MRgFUS.
www.sightlinehealth.com This is a state-of-the-art, non-surgical treatment that uses ultrasound energy to treat and eliminate uterine fibroids (one of the leading causes of abnormal bleeding and hysterectomy).
In essence, they are using energy medicine to eliminate fibroids in a way that I, a non-technical person, predicted to surgeons ten years ago!
WHAT’S MY POINTWhat’s the point of this tale?
1. Listen compassionately to all and really HEAR what is being said, emotionally, spiritually and through your ears!
2. Keep growing, learning and changing. Be swept up on the current and flow with it.
3. Dream your big dreams; think your big thoughts; let your imagination soar!
As Shakespeare said, “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy.”
Who can only guess what your dream or notion of a better world will yield tomorrow?
