Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Faith, trust, and pixie dust

2003; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 56; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/01.hj.0000293004.29666.df

2333-6218

Robert L. Martin,

Child and Adolescent Health

Figure: Robert L. MartinIn Peter Pan, Wendy asks Peter, “How do we get to Never Never Land?” “Fly, of course,” he answers. So the children “think a wonder thought” and start to fly. But they keep falling down. “What's the matter?,” asks Peter, “All it takes is faith and trust. Oh, and something I forgot, pixie dust.” Then Peter Pan sprinkles the children with pixie dust and they fly off into a wonderful childhood adventure. We sometimes get lost in the routine of our day-to-day business, programming hearing aids and resolving feedback and wax problems. But we are not in a product business. We are in the people business and, like Peter Pan, we need to know a lot about faith, trust, and pixie dust. FAITH It is human nature to misjudge and overestimate problems. Many patients believe nothing can help them hear better. They fear they are “falling apart” or they are too old to be helped. Fear can lead to fright and panic. But faith can conquer fear. When new patients seem apprehensive, I tell them, “Don't worry, your case is simple. I have been in this business for many years and have sold more than 10,000 hearing aids. This is easy. Let me show you.” I then take a high-quality BTE hearing aid and attach it to a listening scope. I adjust the aid to produce loud, clear sound and I have the patient and the spouse listen to the aid. Most patients are surprised and delighted when they hear loud, clear amplification. “Can you hear me?,” I ask. “Oh, yes,” they usually respond. Their fear starts to dissipate. The patient must have faith that I know what I am doing and that I am an honest, easy-to-work-with person. I help create trust by demonstrating my expertise and keeping everything ultra-simple from the patient's point of view. TRUST One of my referring physicians tells his patients, “You can trust Dr. Martin. He won't play games with you. I sent my father to him.” These 17 words instantly instill faith and trust in new patients and make my job easy. Most of my business comes from existing patients referring friends and family members. These new patients also tend to trust me since I have proven to be trustworthy to their friends. Trust must be earned. Do a good job. Be a decent person. Don't play games. People will recognize your professional strengths and abilities. Years of honest, straightforward work will translate into a public perception that you are a person of integrity, a professional to be trusted. PIXIE DUST Do you believe in magic? You should, because you need it in this business. Magic is created in many different ways. For example, consider cooking. Espie, one of my secretaries, told me, “I put love into my cooking. I tune the radio to a station that plays salsa and I sing and dance when I cook. When we eat, we always pray first, then I turn the radio on softly so the flavor of the music gets into the food.” Floyd, one of my patients, said, “Competence must always come first and there is no substitute. But people, especially people of our generation, are looking for much more. Compassion and sincerity are very important to us. A professional, a doctor, has to be able to listen well. He also must be a positive individual, motivated to make everything successful. When you have a problem, you want your doctor to say, ‘We will take care of that.’;” I asked Floyd, “Do you believe in magic?” “Well,” he answered, “I think what you are talking about are charisma and integrity. People shop for price and service, but they remember how they felt doing business with you.” Roy Bain, a hearing aid specialist and instructor, said, “Never see a patient without first putting sparkles into your eyes. Stand in front of the mirror and look into your eyes. Say to yourself, ‘I need to be at my best. This patient deserves my best.’; Turn yourself on. Throw away all negativism and turn on compassion.” As for me, I believe in magic and pixie dust. Three years and 6 months ago, I first saw my little boy via an ultrasound image. He was about 3 inches long. He is now 38 inches tall. When you see a child's mind and body grow from tiny cells you have no choice but to believe in magic. Helping people hear is a gift I have acquired over the years and a gift I enjoy. I have fun at work. I enjoy people. I pass around jokes. I make fun of the local baseball and football teams. And, when I need more help—more pixie dust—I call on the experts with whom I've developed working relationships. None of us stands alone. We can give each other magic. CONCLUSION It is impossible to work in this business for many years without using magic. The job is too tough. Magic cuts through the doldrums. Magic energizes compassion. Compassion binds people together. The next time you run into a really tough hearing aid fitting, remember, “All it takes is faith and trust and pixie dust.”