Babies Grow DPC Practices in More Ways Than One!
We welcomed my firstborn at the end of my second year of medical school. By that time, between some fantastic Family Medicine mentors and attending a medical school that valued primary care, I was convinced that full spectrum Family Medicine was for me. We (ok, really my wife) chose Dr. Minyon Rittgers-Easton, a Family Medicine physician that practices obstetrics, and one of my future mentors, to be her doctor for that pregnancy.
When Kade was born, she rounded on us the next day and brought in a baby-sizedteddy bear. She told us that she did this for a couple of reasons. She wanted to say thank you for picking her as our obstetrician. She was well aware that we could’ve chosen any number of other physicians or providers, including a nurse midwife or an Ob/Gyn. She also wanted to congratulate us as we welcomed a new member into our family, a significant life event. After she left our room that morning, my wife looked at me and told me that if I was going to be delivering babies as a Family Medicine physician in the future, I will be doing something similar.
And so, I did. But a little bit different. I would wrap a baby board book with a ball (mini soccer ball, basketball, dodge ball, etc.), in a very simple style (I joke “guy wrapping”) with some tulle and ribbon (see above). I wrote “Happy Birthday _____” and signed each book. I also explained to my patients that this gift was a thank you for trusting me with caring for both mother and baby throughout her pregnancy, labor, delivery and after. I included the book because I wanted to emphasize the importance of parents reading to their children. I included the ball because I wanted to emphasize the importance of parents keeping their kids active. It was a hit.
Fast forward 15 years to transitioning to Direct Primary Care. My wife, serving as clinic manager, came across the idea of a onesie pictured above. Of course we modified it for our clinic. She rightly pointed out that this is a great way to add to how we say thank you to our patients and advertise that we take care of newborns, even though I no longer deliver babies. Now the team at the clinic signs each book. It’s still a hit.
It’s a well-known fact that on average women speak more words per day than men and on average find relationships rather than things, more important and more interesting than men. The onesie advertising the clinic gives our verbose, relationship-oriented mothers a chance to share about the care they receive and value so much. A word-of-mouth referral is the most powerful way to recruit new patients to your practice. It’s a warm hand off.
Although this suggestion may not be as practical for my colleagues in Internal Medicine or Ob/Gyn, you could still consider riffing off this by giving new mom’s a onesie that says something like, “Don’t worry, my mom is being cared for by ______”, or some such thing. For my Pediatric, Med Peds and Family Medicine colleagues, this is a simple and inexpensive advertisement. Yet it’s a powerful combination for your patients to have a tangible, visible gift with a custom note from you and then for them to share why other potential patients should choose your DPC.
This is awesome. I love it!