If you see patients or clients in person, you want them to feel welcome, and safe in your professional environment, and to be their authentic selves while with you. I have a short course that will help you create a warm and inviting experience.
This post addresses your physical space, and also your head space about your environment.
YOUR WORK SPACE: First, think about your physical work space. As an acupuncturist, I need to keep my patients safe, comfortable, stress-free, and pleasing, to present an environment that reflects an appropriate professional setting but also inspires health and well-being. So I’ve created a physical space that includes a variety of elements to do just that. I want a relaxing but uplifting office mood, that includes a bit of my personality but is always professional.
I am co-teaching a CEU course (2 units) called “A Baker’s Dozen: 13 Tips To Make Your Treatment Space More Inviting.” This is especially helpful if you’re new to practice, but also if you want to take a fresh look at your office. This course could also apply to massage therapists, aestheticians, reflexologists, nurse practitioners, and even psychotherapists (with appropriate modifications for each type of practice). As professionals, we focus so much on our skills and practice management issues, that we sometimes neglect how much impact our environment can have on our patients or clients. You can register at the link above, and take the class at your convenience.
YOUR HEAD SPACE: It’s important to remember that your environment also affects YOU. So if you’re not happy with what you see, mix it up, clean it out or upgrade it appropriately so that you feel happy there. It might need a deep clean. Are your windows dirty? You may need to eliminate clutter. Do you have junk drawers, with miscellaneous bits and bobs tossed in? Do you have anything in your space that uplifts and inspires you? If you dread going to your work space or feel “blah” about it, it’s not helping you or your patients to feel better on any level.
Clutter can dampen and drain your spirit, so any time you can de-clutter, handle paperwork and create a neat and pleasing work area, it will help you focus more easily on and feel better about the tasks at hand. A clean and clear work space will always elevate your mood, regardless if your imperative is relieving office Qi stagnation, upgrading your Feng Shui or preparing for year end taxes!
One of my favorite “room evaluation” experiences is to get a treatment from a colleague in my space. It allows me to approximate my patient’s experience and get a sense of what feels great or what could be improved. If that’s not possible, then just take a rest on your treatment table, or sit in your client chair and consider your office from that perspective.
My practice is currently open, so I have a clear sense of how my treatment space makes me and my patients feel. And since I moved recently, I’ve applied more attention and intention to what I now have in my room. It feels great!
So the next time you go to work, ask yourself how you feel when you enter your treatment room. If you’d like to take a fresh look your treatment space then please consider taking my short course. If you need some uplift and inspiration in your work space, make some time to reconsider your space, and what would lift your spirits when you are there. Let me know in the comments what works for you!