Advanced Medical Consultant's online newsletter for November 2017
November 2017
Words of a Mentor Who Helps Us Find Our Path?
We don’t always end up where we expect to be in life. I understand this truth quite well. When I started my career in the medical field, pain management wasn’t on my radar. In fact, when I got out of medical school I didn’t even know pain management was a real specialty! I set out to be a surgeon, and when I decided that career path wasn’t for me, I would have ended up in anesthesia were it not for my mentor. My mentor was Dr. H, a well-known neurosurgeon. To call him “tough” would be a massive understatement. I never really knew if he liked me or not. Dr. H was really strict and hard to impress, but I learned more about surgery from him than I did from any other doctor during my residency. Dr. H would later tell me that, among all the interns I worked with, I was the one who impressed him the most! Of course, he would only tell me this after I told him I was leaving the surgical field in favor of another career path. He was disappointed in my decision, but offered me some parting advice: “If you’re going to switch, I would recommend you go into pain management. You have the technical skills and are more than capable of learning the field.” This would turn out to be some of the best advice I have ever received, though I didn’t follow it right away. Instead, I went into anesthesia training and more or less forgot about pain management. But Dr. H had planted the seed. Sometime later, during my anesthesia residency, someone came in to give a presentation about possible specialties we could pursue. That’s when the subject of pain management re-entered my life. For the first time, I recognized the potential in the developing field. Pain doesn’t come from the same source. Each day, you’re faced with a unique case and unique patients. It’s your job to find a solution that can best help them. It is a complicated field, with resources and technology still developing. There was a “Pain doesn’t come from the same source. Each day, you’re faced with a unique case and unique patients.”
degree of challenge I found really appealing. Plus, in pain management, I could start my own business, rather than remain tethered to a big hospital throughout my whole career. After the presentation, I told my colleagues how excited I was about pain management. I considered taking a year off to learn more. At the time, my excitement was met with sarcastic remarks about the validity of the field. Fast- forward to a few years later, and more than a few of my former colleagues are wishing they’d followed my lead. Today, I have more diverse training and skills than if I had stuck with anesthesia. I can put patients to sleep before surgery, but I can also perform the surgery, diagnose problems, run tests, and even consult with insurance companies on other cases. Plus, the field of pain management is rapidly developing, and there is always some new breakthrough to look forward to. I have the opportunity to learn something new all the time, and that is really exciting. I am thankful to Dr. H for putting the idea of pain management in my head. He was right; this is the field I was meant to be in. I cannot imagine doing anything else with my life. Dr. Chi Izeogu
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3 Cleaning ‘Rip-Offs’ That Actually Work
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But sometimes we stumble across a few hidden gems that make our lives easier. And, when it comes to cleaning house, we can all use a little “easier.” Check out these products you may have already written off and let them surprise you. Dollar Store Cleaning Products If you’ve ever ducked into the local dollar store to buy some Mylar balloons for your niece’s birthday party, you might have noticed the jugs and spray bottles plastered with the word “Awesome.” Surely, this knock-off soap can’t work as well as your brand-name products, right? You’d be surprised. Online reviewers sing Awesome’s praises, suggesting it should really be a higher price for how well it works. Just make sure you wear gloves when you use it.
Detergent Pods You use too much soap in your washing machine and dishwasher. At least, that’s what the New York Times reported as the No. 1 complaint from repair people and appliance experts. Modern appliances are designed to use less water, and as soap becomes more concentrated, using too much can damage your machine. That’s what makes detergent pods so handy. They don’t look like they can clean all your dishes or an entire load of clothes, but they actually provide the perfect amount for modern machines. You save money on detergent and machine repair! Foam Cleaning Blocks Anything with “magic” in the title sounds like a scam. For this reason, you may have avoided the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and similar melamine foam products. But this is one case where the product lives up to its wild claims. Melamine foam is abrasive and can break down and remove material from fine cracks and textures, making it an effective cleaner. It can be used to whiten sneakers, clean tub scum, and remove permanent marker from your fridge. Since the snake oil salesmen in the days of old first tricked trusting folks out of their hard-earned cash, consumers have wised up and are quick to write off perceived scams. Still, every now then you get lucky, and the cheap white sponge really does make the stove look like new again. But you should still think twice before you say yes to gas station sushi.
How to Calculate the Lifetime Value of a Customer
The lifetime value of a customer is an easily overlooked and often underutilized concept. Don’t risk doing yourself and your business a huge disservice. Why track customer lifetime value, or CLV? When you know the CLV, you have data you can use to your advantage. This data can be applied to customer retention initiatives, marketing campaigns, referral programs, and, most importantly, keeping repeat customers happy. Plus, when you know the current CLV, you can work to improve that number.
Just keep in mind this number is based on averages and will not give you precise information (for a more comprehensive method of calculating CLV,
There are different ways to calculate CLV. Some methods are more complicated than others. At a minimum, you need to be tracking the following data points: A. The money spent by each customer (the revenue your business gains per customer, factoring in the margins of the products or services you provide) B. The time frame for each customer purchase (the average amount of time you keep a customer) C. The initial cost to acquire a customer
check the Wikipedia entry for customer lifetime value). The more data you have to pull from, the more accurate the number will be. For instance, if you’ve been tracking A, B, and C for the past six years, you will have a more accurate picture of CLV versus a business that started tracking last year. Think of it as an efficiency formula. With this data, you can determine which are your best customers and which are not. From there, you can tailor your marketing endeavors and get far more out of your marketing dollars.
With this data, you can then calculate CLV: A x B – C = CLV
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Getting to the Point of Pain Can Trigger Point Injections Help My Patient?
Depending on the location and severity of the pain, a patient may need multiple injections during the procedure.
On average, trigger point injections are safe, but this treatment should not be the first answer for every patient. Candidates for trigger point injections experience chronic musculoskeletal pain and have not responded to 4 to 6 weeks of other treatment. Trigger point injections should not be the only treatment for pain relief. This procedure is most successful when paired with physical therapy, as a physical therapist is able to help stretch and release the muscles after the injection to improve healing. Patients are more likely to experience lasting relief when the cause of the trigger point is identified. Understanding what causes a trigger point is a crucial step of recovery. Muscular overload is often the culprit and can take these forms: ● Exertion overload: lifting something too heavy ● Repetitive stress overload: performing repetitive movements every day ● Biomechanical overload: caused by a myofascial pain disorder ● Muscular trauma overload: physical trauma Trigger point injections are known to be extremely effective in treating chronic pain, especially when paired with physical therapy. It’s important to implement behaviors that prevent the trigger points from forming again.
‘Boundaries for Leaders’ Redefines Leadership Common treatments for trigger points include massage, physical therapy, and exercise. These approaches can help work the muscle back into a healthier form, but not every patient experiences relief. This is where trigger point injections can help. An outpatient procedure, trigger point injections involve a physician carefully inserting a needle into the trigger point and injecting an anesthetic mixture. This mixture causes the trigger point to relax, releasing the tension in the muscle. The procedure takes only a few minutes and often results in much-needed pain relief. When a patient describes their pain as a “muscle knot,” they likely suffer from a hypersensitive area of overactive muscle or fascia, known as a myofascial trigger point. Often taking the form of a tender nodule, trigger points restrict movement, cause muscle weakness, and radiate pain to other parts of the body. Trigger points can lead to pain in the back, neck, or shoulders, and they may also be the cause of chronic tension headaches.
resource of the month
Since 1973, the International Association for the Study of Pain has aimed to be more than a passive informational resource. Instead, the IASP strives to change the world by actively encouraging pain experts to collaborate on research and innovation. IASP members are eligible for grants and fellowships to aid in pain research; have access to the official IASP journal, PAIN; and are offered avenues to network with their peers practicing around the world. IASP’s biennial World Congress on Pain is attended by some of the 7,000 members from 133 countries, and it offers lectures, workshops, and courses on multidisciplinary subjects associated with pain. The next World Congress is scheduled for September 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more about the congress, benefits of membership, and the work behind IASP’s cause at iasp-pain.org. The International Association for the Study of Pain Unites the World
Leadership is the process of turning a vision into a reality. At least, that’s what Dr. Henry Cloud, author of the groundbreaking book “Boundaries for Leaders,” says. And he’s right! By melding the fields of clinical psychology and leadership consulting, Dr. Cloud determined most people, whether they’re an executive or a newbie opening their first start-up, approach leadership all wrong.
Great leaders achieve success by relying on the right people and leading these people in the right direction. This process demands boundaries, but this is a tricky tightrope to walk. Too many boundaries restrict happiness and innovation, while too few leave a team without any direction. Dr. Cloud examines how the best leaders set boundaries that empower teams to reach goals by working with the brain’s functions of attention, inhibition, and working memory. This is a refreshing approach to leadership that can work wonders on the efficiency and effectiveness of any team. Pick up a copy of “Boundaries of Leaders” today and learn what you can gain from a psychological approach to leadership.
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50 Union Avenue, Suite 501 Irvington, NJ 07111 (973) 673-0601 table of contents here’s what’s inside
Words of a Mentor PAGE 1
These Products Make Housework Easier! Get More Out of the Lifetime Value of Your Customers PAGE 2 Can Trigger Point Injections Help My Patient? Book Review: ‘Boundaries for Leaders’ PAGE 3
Don’t Dread Your Next Business Trip PAGE 4
How to Make Business Travel Better
The Global Business Travel Association estimates around 488 million Americans fly for business every year. There are millions of conferences,
Book a Hotel Near Your Meetings Transportation fees can take a hefty chunk out of your travel budget, even after you step off the plane. Business Travel News’ 2015 Corporate Travel Index estimated travelers drop an average of $46.89 per day on their rental car. Even rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft can add up fast when you use them to get back and forth between your hotel and the conference center each day. Save yourself some cash and book a hotel within walking distance of where your meetings will be held. Plus, after sitting in meetings all day, a brisk walk outside can do wonders for your health. Eat Right and Sleep Well When you’re in a rush to get from the hotel to your meeting, you might be tempted to grab a donut from the coffee shop. Resist the urge! You don’t need to add to the stress of the trip by falling into unhealthy habits. Don’t let your diet become nothing but fast food. Pack an extra water bottle, avoid alcohol or heavy foods before a flight, and get enough sleep each night. Until teleportation technology like that in “Star Trek” becomes a reality, traveling for work will continue to be a hassle. But if you’re smart and well-prepared, it doesn’t have to be something to dread.
meetings, and continuing education courses across the country. These trips are important, but getting to them can be a pain. If you were exhausted by your last business trip, here are some tricks to make the next one easier. Fly Through Airport Security With TSA Precheck One of the most trying parts of airline travel is the time-consuming experience of the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA. Long lines inch slowly along as you hurry to remove your shoes, empty your pockets, and locate all the liquids in your carry-on luggage. Say farewell to this headache with TSA Precheck. Travelers who qualify for TSA Precheck don’t have to remove their shoes, jacket, or belt; electronics and any 3-1-1 liquids remain in your carry-on; and the line is much shorter. In some cases, flyers wait a mere five minutes in TSA Precheck compared to 80 minutes in the standard security line. Learn how to apply at tsa.gov/tsa-precheck.
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