Thursday, March 15 at 10:30 am - "What Doctors Wish Their Patients Knew"
FORT MYERS BEACH LIBRARY 2755 Estero Blvd, FMB, FL ; 3rd Floor
          An introduction to the Patient Best®️ Self Advocacy series

​Fort Myers Beach Public Library 2755 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931, 3rd Floor
December 28, 2017 (Thursday)  10:30 am   
Medication Surprises  - learn how to have the confidence and tools to advocate for yourself as a patient.  We will discuss the Do's and Don'ts of modern medications and more.  Medical errors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease and cancer.  Presenters:  Suzanne Fiscella, PA-C of Patient Best®️ and Kathleen McMillan, PharmD of Be Resilient, LLC.

The following presentations are free to the public; please join us to learn more about how to advocate for yourself in the healthcare maze.

Fort Myers Beach Public Library 2755 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931, 3rd Floor
December 13, 2017 (Wed)  10:30 am   
What Doctors Wish Patients Knew  - learn how to have the confidence and tools to advocate for yourself as a patient.  We will discuss the seven steps to every medical visit and how/why to put your own medical records together.  Medical errors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease and cancer.  Presenters:  Suzanne Fiscella, PA-C of Patient Best®️ and Kathleen McMillan, PharmD of Be Resilient, LLC.

     I am busy starting my new small business managing an endless list of tasks.  I visited my personal banker at Chase to open the business bank account, anxious to get this checked off my list the day before undergoing outpatient surgery.

What should have been a half hour task turned into a 1.5 hour meeting.  But the real story ended up being how Cathy handled the situation.  We already had a relationship because I had met with her on two previous occasions to get preliminary information about opening the account.  That was crucial.  

When we ran into a couple major hurdles in opening the account, it could have easily meant escalating bad feelings on both our parts.  That never happened.  Cathy kept her cool.  I kept my cool.  We were on the same side, the side of success.  Instead of getting tense and negative, she laughed.  I joked.  We got through it.

Cathy’s personality, her approach to life is positive and affirming.  It made all the difference.  I walked away from the bank happy instead of frustrated.  She was late for her 2:00 pm appointment but never complained about that.

When choosing a team member to help you begin your new business or help with health advocacy, the WHO is just as important as the WHAT, HOW, WHY and WHEN.  Find someone who will stay positive during adversity and someone who clicks with your personality.  It will make all the difference.

Here goes.  I've been wanting to do this for some time now.  I always have something to say.  This is my first blog post ever.  Why does it seem daunting?

The "Sheer Joy" title comes from a comment I made to my friends today when we were walking back from my favorite restaurant, The Beached Whale, after a lovely lunch.  My friends were kind enough to listen to my excitement about starting my new business.  I said "well, at least I know it's the right thing to do because it doesn't seem like work to me...it's fun."

Then I took a couple hours away from the computer to go shelling on the Gulf at low tide.  And I thanked my friend for getting me out of the house on such a gorgeous day because I realized I'd been spending too many hours working to get the website launched (too much work makes Kathy a dull girl!).  Time with friends and nature was just what the doctor ordered and sheer joy.

So it is time to make the leap of faith and press the "publish" button tonight.  It is time to heed my husband's advice when he says, "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

My intent is to help all of my clients find moments of sheer joy no matter what daunting health situation they may be dealing with.  My goal for myself, my family and all my clients is to get up in the morning and purposefully have the best possible day we can have, every day.