Let’s keep talking about finding your rewarding work – that ideal patient that keeps you coming to work, that sparks interest and helps you really help a group of people.
I love to read widely – looking in books that are not just about medical clinics but podiatry, cafe ownership, dentistry. Many of these books suggest thinking about your ideal customer – that you can’t be all things to all people, but by finding your ideal person you can excel.
Can you be everything to everyone?
Tyson Franklin in his “It’s no secret there is money in Podiatry” book points out you can have a statement you treat all customers “anyone that’s breathing” however this opens you up to patients that are not your ideal fit. We can bring great focus and skills to helping one type of patient.
Dr Todd Cameron & Dr Sachin Patel in their book “The Successful General Practice” encourage you to think about the airline business. There is economy class – the basic product that gets filled up and is a reliable income, then there are the premium seats that need more focus and care but may be more rewarding to provide. They refer to the length (basic services) and the strengths (premium/interest areas) where you can offer focused services.
GPs do worry sometimes about niche work – will I lose my other skills; I joined GP to be a generalist; I feel I should have the door open to all comers; will I maintain my CPD. I would say that initially, just increasing the proportion of the work that fulfills you is very useful. If you go 100% into one thing (skin cancer clinic, counseling, coaching) then you do need to make decisions about who you see, registration and insurance however don’t let that stop you for considering some work now that will reward you.
Thinking about your ideal patient
Ben Lynch in the allied health focused “Grow your Clinic” book suggest thinking about the persona of your ideal person – who are they, where do they work, what sports do they play.
An Australian book “The 1-Page Marketing Plan” by Allan Dib has a short three questions, which Allan in turn credits to Frank Kern the PVP index Personal fulfillment – how much do you enjoy working with a particular patient type. Value to the marketplace – how much does this market segment value your work? and Profitability – how profitable is your work for this patient type. If there are very high consumable costs or insurance costs, a particular type of care might not be worth your time.
Katrina McCarters book “Marketing to Mums, how to sell more to Australia’s most powerful consumer” encourages to your think about your ideal mum(avatar). Katrina has a picture on the wall in her office to remind her of who the ideal person is and to keep going back to this avatar with all thoughts about messages, marketing, pricing, education. Katrina suggests we can really misfire if we don’t have a clear idea of our ideal mum (patient for us) and expend all our energies towards that person, rather than poorly focused scattergun efforts.
Now you think about your ideal patient for GPwSI
Do you know your ideal patient, they type you could see all day? Sit down with a drink, a note book or workbooks like the one I linked to in my last article and think about who this ideal person is.
Also published on LInkedin