A philosophy in PHD: in ancient Greece, Hippocrates taught medicine to his students in the spreading shade of a great planetree. He taught that patients should be the focus of care and that the environment was an important factor in healing

Healthcare Financial Management, April, 2005

The employees were told to sit quietly--no talking, no writing, no reading. They were not told why they were doing this, or for how long.

After 60 seconds, the employees were asked how long they had stayed quiet. The discussion leader related those responses to how long a wait feels to patients, particularly when they aren't given any explanation or expectations. The employees were asked whether the quiet time would have seemed shorter if they had known how long it would last and why they were doing it.

The lesson, summed up by the discussion leader: "How many times do we say to people, 'It'll be just a minute; or 'I'll be right back'? Try to define 'right back'--is that one minute? Five minutes? Thirty minutes? An hour? It's different for each individual, which is why it's so important to personalize the care/service that we provide to our patients/guests/coworkers."