“Are you my new doctor? Where’s doctor XYZ?”

It’s always a little hard being the new kid on the block…

You probably feel like you have something to prove - you’re worried you look young and inexperienced.

Maybe you hold back because you’re afraid to come across as too aggressive, or too different in treatment style from their previous provider.

For the most part, people are kind and welcome new faces - but when it comes to long term patients loyal to their previous provider, it can be hard to be the following act.

my favorite tip for winning over patients in these types of situations, and I’m gonna hold your had when I say this:

STOP TRYING TO MAKE FETCH HAPPEN!!! IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!

you can’t just bulldoze you’re way into someones life and be like “I’M THE CAPTAIN NOW” -

a helpful tip that’s worked for me is:

Instead, think of it as you’re at a party, and their previous provider is a mutual friend you just realized you have.

Think about how awesome it is when you go to a random party and meet a random person that knows your mutual friend.

“No way!! You know so and so? Yeah they still go hiking all the time! They just got back from Italy…”

It’s so great feeling like in a sea of random people, you can bond over knowing that mutual friend. And from that one bond alone, you can create your own unique bond.

Too many people try to BE the mutual friend when in reality, there’s no way you can replace that person for them. You can’t expect to come in and suddenly be entitled to the bond from their years of memories together, the things they’ve shared together, and you can’t expect for that person to just forget about the mutual friend the second you show up.

Instead, what you can do is USE the mutual friend as an ice breaker/buffer to show you guys have similar taste or feel the same way, and build on that connection to create your own special thing. And hey, let’s say they’re still not won over? It’s ok, there’s other people at the party to meet that want to meet you anyways.

NEXT VISIT: here’s how you can do it in 1 minute

My biggest tips to practice this are:

• Know who you’re replacing duh! Know how they practiced, what their philosophies and catch phrases were. Let’s say you’re different? No sweat, when confronted just explain in a respectful manner that while their method may not be wrong, here’s why you do things this way. My boss taught me the phrase “we now know more…” and it’s been helpful to take the pressure off

• Be ready with UPDATES! the quickest way to feel that oxytocin hit of bonding is to update your patient on this “mutual friend” - that way you’re actually their “in”! Let them know how Dr. XYZ is liking retirement, how their family is doing, where they moved/practice now. If you think about this like the mutual friend theory, they’re going to feel more connected to you when you help them feel connected to this other person they care about.

• Acknowledge that you are not the old provider. Have their uncomfortable feelings acknowledged back

  • “I know how you feel, I miss them too.”

  • “I want to make this transition as comfortable for you as possible. They told me all about you (kinda giving Santa vibes lmao??? You’ve been a very good boy all year!!)”

  • My favorite line? If it seem’s to be going well: “Don’t worry, I’m - fortunately for you - unfortunately for me - no where near retirement so we can take our time getting you where you want to be”

For more about taking over as the new doc, navigating high case expectations, easy little ways to practice with a trauma informed approach and building rapport with TEENS (my fav humans!) - check out this week’s podcast episode with Dr. Jen, an orthodontics resident in her final year!

And now, onto the last segment of this newsletter: your BUZZY BITES, the pop culture news stories of the week to make small talk with - so you can talk to anyone about anything.

BUZZY BITES:

1. CHIPOTLE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES: Chipotle and Spirit Halloween are teaming up for the 2024 season and launched 5 Halloween costumes based off of the mexican food chain: fork, napkin, burrito, water cup, and to go bag! See how much these costumes cost & where you can get them here!

   

   Source: People Magazine

2. ANOTHA ONE: The American Heart Association adds another hit song to their list of approved songs with the perfect tempo to perform CPR to. Per the American Heart Association, the song “360” by Charli XCX has 120 beats per minute and joins the list of Taylor Swift’s song “The Tortured Poets Department” and Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Please Please Please” - see more songs on the list here!

   

   Source: AHA Instagram

3. MOVING SZN: Pizza Hut launches an innovative pizza box that turns into a miniature table in the spirit of moving season! The Moving Box Table was created after a survey found that 87% of people ordered pizza during a move, and sadly 79% of those had to eat it while sitting on the floor. See how you can get your Moving Box Table here!

   

   Source: Pizza Hut

Message me if this post resonated with you! That’s all for this week’s newsletter, tune into next week’s for more fun! Reply if you are dental, pharmacy, medical or anything else! Would love to hear from you!!

Thanks for reading - if you liked what you read please share this with a friend! See you next week,

xoxo, Connie