In the spirit of Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season, we dug deep into our archives to share a patient’s story of thankfulness for restored vision after cataract surgery.
In our search we came across Sybil, a 71-year-young patient of Dr. Tal Raviv at the Eye Center of New York. At the time of our interview, Sybil was actively training for and competitively participating in triathlons.
As Sybil would share with us, her age meant that she wouldn’t have too many seasons left to compete, so understandably, a quick recovery from surgery was important to her. Her voice filled with gratitude, she described to us the ease of the surgery, the speediness of the recovery, and her thankfulness towards Dr. Raviv for his care, sufficient communication, his accommodating attitude toward her, and respect for her as a patient.
The more we talked with Sybil, the more obvious it became just how thankful she was for the surgery and for Dr. Raviv. Her vision restored, she was able to train and compete in the sport she loved so much. She made it apparent that it was not only Dr. Raviv’s experience, but his attentiveness, communication, and respect that made the real difference.
To be honest, this was unlike any other patient testimonial video we’ve ever done. Most patients, while thankful, are too concerned with being on camera or what they feel they “should” say rather than telling their authentic story.
Our interview with Sybil opened our eyes to true patient experience – or at least, what true patient experience should be. Truly satisfied and thankful patients won’t need a script or any coaching – they will just tell their stories. And we believe that thankful patients lead to thankful doctors that perpetuate the cycle by improving their treatment and care of their patients.
So in this holiday season, take a moment to remember just how many patients are thankful for your work as a surgeon, and about what you can do to go above and beyond in improving the lives of more patients.
Happy Thanksgiving.
