Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1223736
Winning the Waiting (Room) GAME BY STEVE BARRETT TA K E THE EDG E OFF for patients with design choices that promote health and com- fort, urges Nicole Groshek, Social Media and Content Coordinator for Milwaukee-based National Business Furniture. Mix it up. Incorporate bariatric seating, chairs with arms and some without, and sofas or love seats for sharing. Select well-padded seating that is durable and easy to clean. Go with the right flow. Spacious, easily navigated walkways foster safety and minimize feelings of confinement. Ditto for furniture placement that allows for a bit of elbow room. Keep things simple. Make sure patients can readily spot the correct paths both to the reception desk and to exam rooms. Take it easy. Soft grays, browns and greens make the decor more homelike. (A caveat: Go bold and bright in pediatric offices.) Get modern. Amenities such as free Wi-Fi help patients pass the time and boost comfort. Lighten up. Opt for natural light if you ca n. A lternatively, bright, sof t lighting promotes a serene atmosphere, and warm, low light creates a feeling of home. Ditch the fluorescents. "A well-designed doctor's office waiting room should make patients and their families feel comfortable and more at ease, given the nervous and frightened feelings many get simply from being in a healthcare facility," Groshek writes. n A CERTAIN GLOOM ATTACHES TO WAITING ROOMS. THE CHEERLESSNESS CAN BE COMPOUNDED WHEN IT'S A MEDICAL OFFICE WAITING ROOM. Striking a Healthy Social Media Balance BUT WHAT YOU can do as a physician is set boundaries to maintain a degree of separation between your personal and professional lives — while also leveraging platforms that benefit patients. That's the message from Kimberly Becher, MD, who practices at a rural Federally Qualified Health Center in Clay County, West Virginia. It's OK to establish a nonmedical social media presence, Dr. Becher blogs at aafp.org, the website for the American Academy of Family Physicians. "Sometimes I need to step away from medicine to keep balance in my life," she explains. For her, that has meant setting up a Facebook page to communicate only with friends. She accepts no friend requests from patients, nor does she read anything patients send through Facebook Messenger. However, Dr. Becher does not deem all social media contact with patients damaging to a healthy balance between work and home life. BY STEVE BARRETT SOCIAL MEDIA: CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT, CAN'T PITCH IT INTO AN ACTIVE VOLCANO. "I created my Twitter account to connect with other physicians interested in health policy," she writes. "And although many of my patients don't use social media, I have a few who do follow me and have mentioned reading articles I post on vaccines. I like having a social media outlet that reaches patients, but I also enjoy having another that does not." An AMA Code of Medical Ethics Opinion encour- ages physicians to "consider separating personal and professional content online." n 059990058_PhysicianLifeBalance1.indd 1 11/7/19 3:23 PM M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S L O W E R H u D S O N / B R O N x ■ 2 0 2 0 P H Y S I C I A N L I F E ❰❰❰❰❰ 0 5