Dear Colleague...

Please learn your worth.
Please do not discount your care by offering deals, coupons, or "packaged rates." While this may be acceptable in other industries, this is not acceptable of a healthcare professional. Charge what you are worth. You are worth more than you think.


Please trust that your education has prepared you to succeed and that you have what you need to provide great care.
Just because you are new, does not mean you are inadequate or "less than." The desire to provide compassionate care is more powerful than you will ever know (right now).


Please hold close the importance of lifelong learning, and continuing to explore, experiment and question.
Do not allow your education to end; make it instead part of your journey to challenge your assumptions, opinions and process always.


Please educate, share and collaborate without judgement.
Understand that there are many methods, and all can have value. There is no better way. There are many ways. Learn the difference between passion in your beliefs, judgement and ego.


Please know your scope and stay within it.
This allows your colleagues to feel proud to be a part of a whole, and allows the public to know what to expect and what is not appropriate in their care. It keeps people safe.


Please do not feel that you are in competition with your colleagues.
We all have our place, and we may need to come in and out of our patients lives at different times. Patient hoarding does not protect your practice, and it often prevents your patients from getting the care they truly need. Know your strengths and weaknesses, and find colleagues to help fill in the gaps for the good of your patients. Put your patients first not your finances, and the money will work itself out.


Please represent yourself with the integrity of a professional.
Whether we like it or not, in healthcare, we are in a profession that is held to a higher standard even outside our workplaces. Be mindful of your social media presence. Be mindful of your behavior in public. Be mindful. You represent us all.


Please ask for help and give it.
If you or a colleague is struggling, or needing support, ask for it or give it. Give it without ego, without ridicule. Just give it. Ask without worry or care about what others may think rather be proud that you are secure enough in yourself to recognize when you need help and ask for it. At some point, we all were in a place where we didn't know or know how. Remember that and be kind.


Yours in Unity,
LD

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