Australian Doctor Australian Doctor 15th December 2017 | Page 26

Gut Feelings
Kindness is the glue that holds
general practice together
A
GP’s waiting room is a
strange place. We spend
our lives simultaneously
adjacent to it, but separate
Guest
Editorial
Dr Jon Fogarty
26
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Australian Doctor
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from it.
The exception is when we find
ourselves in someone else’s waiting
room, checking the time, flicking
through out-of-date magazines, and
hearing the conversations of those
who gather to wait.
The mood can be jolly, with new
babies to goo over, or neighbours
meeting by chance.
Or it can be grim. People are sick.
Some are demanding, some agitated.
Sometimes the wait is too long, the
consult too short, or the hoped-for
outcome not forthcoming.
Dealing with all this are our recep-
tionists and practice managers. It is
not an easy gig.
It is their role to try to keep most of
the people happy, most of the time.
To them falls the three-card trick
of triage, diplomat and accounts
received.
What makes this work well is com-
plex but not mystical: clear systems,
clear guidelines, reasonable expecta-
tions. And kindness.
Kindness is a bit of a gooey word.
It conjures up rescuing kittens more
than general practice.
It lacks the drama of resuscitation
and the cleverness of a smart diagno-
sis.
But it is the glue that can hold the
place together.
It is the stuff that can keep good
15 December 2017
staff. It can calm scared kids and
comfort scared grown-ups.
It is a magic potion for doctors
who feel a bit overdone and for
receptionists who feel done over.
It is the not-so-secret ingredient
that can make dealing with an acute
or chronic illness just manageable.
This has been borne out by the
work of Victorian clinician Dr Cath-
erine Crock, who practises in paedi-
atric haematology, a field where the
giddy combination of kids, pain and
to provide su