Being a physician and owning your own practice is very demanding. It requires a lot of knowledge and the responsibility of many decisions. Doctors are accustomed to high-stress situations, which can lead to exhaustion and mental strain. Growing a practice while seeing patients and running a practice can be an overwhelming task, but it can be a very positive experience for physicians if they adopt the right kind of mindset.

What is a Growth Mindset?

A growth mindset is the idea that our abilities and you improve and develop your skills by practice, dedication, and hard work. Without a growth mindset, we fall into a cycle of feeling perpetually stuck, and this is because of having a fixed mindset.

This positive mindset not only helps physicians better treat their patients, but allows them to be open minded and open to trying new things that will grow their practice. The problem with a fixed mindset is that we tend to shy away from challenges and new things so we don’t feel overwhelmed or unknowledgeable. The fear of making a mistake that could be detrimental to a practice is something that holds many physicians back.

A growth mindset ideally encourages learning from mistakes or learning from new experiences to grow and develop a better business plan.

Why it Matters?

A growth mindset allows you to see negative feedback, a negative review, or less-than-ideal situations in your practice as a good thing. As a way to grow and rethink how things are done. For example, if a patient leaves a negative review on a local listing like WebMD, instead of seeing it as a bad thing and letting it get under your skin, a growth mindset would encourage a positive spin on it. It may promote an internal audit of how you and your staff treat patients, how a patients’ experience at your practice could improve, and how you respond to negative responses.

When you use those types of instances as learning experiences, there is room for positive growth and improvement. Posting a public response that puts a positive light on a negative review, or appropriately directing the disgruntled patient to an admin or patient liason can diffuse a situation. This also looks good to other potential patients, when they see a doctor engaged with their patients online. Using scripted responses that are pre-approved can allow an admin or third party growth management agency to monitor social media platforms and local listings.

How to Adopt a Growth Mindset for Your Practice

Changing your outlook and your practice’s business model to a “growth mindset” can seem intimidating, but there are small steps you can take that make a big difference.

Acknowledge Imperfections. When you publicly acknowledge any shortcomings or mistakes made, whether in regards to a disgruntled patient or about your practice in general, you are practicing transparency with your patients. Transparency about treatments, costs, patient experiences, etc. help potential patients feel more comfortable about making an appointment.

• Try Learning New Things. In medicine, new research and treatments are developed rapidly. Adopting new and improved treatments at your practice allows you to stay on top of updated therapies and options for your patients. Without adding new treatments and therapies to your services, you run the risk of becoming outdated and irrelevant.
• Emphasize the Process, Not Just the End Result. Instead of focusing on the end result with your patient, emphasize each part of the journey to include your patient on their journey towards better health. Whether you are in pain management, regenerative medicine, or internal medicine, the steps taken to better your patient’s health are just as important as the end result of living their highest quality life. The care and attention to detail will go a long way with patients, and they are more likely to recommend you to friends and family, and leave a positive review.
• Provide Opportunities for Review. There is a greater chance of a practice or doctor getting a positive review when they ask for one, or provide the opportunity to leave a review. Have a survey go out in an email or online for patients to fill out. Make the process straightforward. 70% of patients will leave a review when presented with the opportunity.
• Take Ownership of Your Attitude. Your attitude and daily mindset affect your personal growth, as well as your ability to grow your practice. When you actively have an open mind and are open to growth, that will reflect in your work with patients and the way your practice operates.

If you want assistance in growing your practice, MyeMed can help. Contact our team today to get started.