What goes on behind the scenes of Ratna Podiatry?
I was chatting to a friend recently who made a comment about the social media for my business, and they were asking about how busy I was and how things were going. I told them that more patients would be useful, but that’s always the case and marketing never stops.
It did get me thinking about how they could comment on the stuff they could see, but they had no idea what goes on behind the scenes.
Posting on social media tends to be focused on a particular outcome and is essentially a marketing tool (one of many for that matter), but, what I have tried to do here is give you a little bit more of “me”. More of the person behind the business. So with that in mind, I want to talk more about what goes on behind the scenes by talking you through my week
During any week, all my days tend to vary and I do love this variety! It is almost like I thrive on this, otherwise I would be bored if I went to the same place daily. I do a mix of private work as an associate once a week, twice a week at my own clinic and home visits when I am not in clinic which could also mean working at the weekend. I also love how my week breaks up in the middle of the week when I work for NHS and, there is a wonderful mix of professionals I share my day with. This also means I have an armoury of different professionals I can reach out too should I need their expert opinion or specialist at tip of my fingers and I thoroughly love being part of a multidisciplinary team. In fact I try to create this environment in all my work places because it allows me to provide the best treatment plan for my patient.
Going back to my clinic
I do feel lucky; considering that I started the clinic just prior to the Pandemic (early February 2020) which was not the best time to start a new clinic but it is building it up slowly and more than anything I am still practising especially when I know many new and old businesses have not survived! It has been a tough time for all businesses so I am highly grateful!
It is extremely hard work. The best thing is that it is my own clinic! I carry out all aspects of it. That includes admin duties such as ordering stock as well as dealing with the patient queries. I speak to the patients personally and book the patients in myself. I try to find out their issue and fill in all their demographics and medical history/ medications which means I have an excellent knowledge of them, prior to them coming in. I carry out their treatments once I have had an open discussion with them about their problem and how best to tackle it. There is no pressure on how many episodes of treatment I can provide, like I did in the NHS. I advise them on what I think is appropriate course of action and finally I take the payment but there is no pressure on selling any extras to them such as orthoses or other products. If the patient wants to purchase anything, I am happy to advise them but there is no hard sell as I personally find it off putting when somebody does that to me. This means that I am present for the entirety of the patient’s journey.
The other thing I like about being part of the patients journey, it is not just about improving their foot health but I get to know about their life, especially if they are doing exams or they are moving schools or starting university or had a new knee or hip replacement or they share their inner thoughts about a new partner they have met or what TV programmes they have watched or if they attended their children's wedding or had their first grandchild. All of this makes me very excited.
How did this come about?
Before my own clinic, I had worked at several other clinics as an associate for a few years since 2015 and before. This meant I gained a lot of from these experiences on the vision I wanted for my clinic and how to achieve this.
Nowadays, I only work at one other practice (Ashdown Clinic), usually on a Monday afternoon. I thoroughly love working here because I feel that I am constantly improving my clinical skills as the principle podiatrist is always available to guide and advise me. This clinic has been established with over 30 years of experience and is run like a well-oiled machine. It is extremely professional and the admin staff tend to go over and beyond to help the patients but also to the other professionals who work here. The patient’s wellbeing is the main focus in this clinic and through the reception team, they can access the podiatrists for guidance. I adore this one to one connection with the patient. It means that before the patient tries to help themselves like treating their ingrown toenail or they are concerned with swelling in their legs but are unable to see a GP, they can speak to one of the podiatrist to get some advice. I have tried to emulate my clinical and business skills from this practice, obviously on a much smaller scale! Being surrounded by mentors is a great bonus for me as I am constantly able to reflect on my treatment plans for my patients and ask for advice when necessary.
I am based at my practice mainly on Tuesdays and Thursdays where I tend to see patients in clinic and normally, I arrange home visits either before clinic or after clinic hours. However, there are times when I have arrange the home visits when it is convenient to the patient. I have a few patients who suffer from long term conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis or Dementia which means that they are only mobile later on in the afternoon, or their carer/ family member prefer that I come when they are more alert as they are more likely to let me treat their feet. This does not always work out! Many times, the patients won’t let me treat them even after spending hours trying to coax them with flattery or asking about their past life but I try not to give up on them! It actually makes me rather sad that I was not able to do the job and I could not help them. I have had some experience with Dementia as my own father suffered from it and there were times when he would refuse to participate or would be hurtful or aggressive towards a family member. I know my heart sinks each time this would happen to me, be it my father or a patient! It is a cruel disease but I try to help as much as I can.
I am constantly trying to improve the practice. Buying a new aid a year to help improve my practice. This year, the plan is to decorate the space to reflect me and my personality. Last year, I joined a practice management application to book patients and write my notes on a computer so trying to become paperless and the year before that I purchased my first love - a water drill for those thickened nails.
What are the downfalls of having a private practice?
It means I am constantly thinking about how to evolve my practice. That never stops. My weekends also tend to revolve around admin work such as working out finances or writing letters or doing some Continuous Professional Development work or working on my blogs. This takes me back to Sundays in Kenya.
My father would always go into work on a Sunday to finish off his “paperwork” and I would always get a little cross as this meant less time to take me swimming or lunch. Now I understand why he had to finish his paper work before the week began, otherwise your mind and desk are cluttered and you cannot begin your week ahead without a clear head! There are times that I even reply to patients on a Sunday evening which I am sure will raise a few eyebrows but if a patient is distressed, I rather they call me and not try something themselves.
I thoroughly love what I do but I do hope that one day I am able to work efficiently and not spend all my weekends working.
Have you got any questions about the behind the scenes at Ratna Podiatry? Then get in touch!