Understanding The Practice Dynamic

– By Dr Nav Ropra.

There is a dynamic that happens in any practice, which if you understand, will help you grow your practice potential efficiently and effectively.  You can then optimally share your skills and gifts with the world without distractions and be of great service. Patients will see and feel this in you and you will get rewarded magnificently in fair exchange for services rendered.

The key to understanding this practice dynamic is to understand what your values are and the values of other people in order to communicate.  The three main types of communication are; careless, caring and careful communication.

When we are acting on eggshells around someone we are communicating ‘carefully’.  We can see others as having more, being more or doing more better than us and minimise our own authenticity.  We can create an idea that they have more to offer us and we then put them on an emotional pedestal.  By doing this, we don’t really see their true authenticity and project a fantasy as to who we think they are.  In practice this can present itself as a new member of staff who we perceive is going to add more value to the practice, or a patient who can afford expensive treatment options so we end up treating them differently and spending more time with them.

The converse is also true when we end up disliking someone.  We perceive them not to offer us anything much so we then throw them into an emotional pit.  Careless communication occurs when we talk down to someone.  We don’t see their true authenticity and want to change them to make them more like us, and project our values onto them.  This can happen in practice when we have an associate-principal conflict, a nurse-dentist conflict or a manager team conflict.  If we dislike a patient it will affect the care that we give them and can lead to a complaint from them.

When you see others as reflections of yourself, and you are neither too humble to put them on an emotional pedestal, or too proud to throw them in an emotional pit, then you can be you, and you allow others to be themselves.  When you love people for who they are, they become who you love.  When you care about your colleagues, when you care about your team, then your practice becomes one of care and not one of distractions.  True caring occurs when you are able to convey what is important to you in the values of the other person.  This is essential when we treat patients as we can find out what their real needs are and then share our love and wisdom with them as caring health care professionals.

Conflicts in our practices or personal lives arise if we are not familiar with the mechanisms which underly human behaviour and that everyone is right according to their own values or vantage point.  In the art of communication, mastery of this dynamic is essential in order to grow personally and to grow your practice or business.  Then your awareness, your influence and leadership abilities are magnified.

‘The Seer, the Seeing, and the Seen are the Same.’ – Socrates.  Reflective consciousness is knowing what you like or dislike in the other person is there in yourself.  Seeing your own form in yourself allows you not to be infatuated, or resentful of others.  Conversely, deflective consciousness occurs when you see others with judgement.  It will take you off your purpose and distract you as it occupies time and space in your mind and will cost you financially, emotionally and your well being.

Your ‘net worth’ is a derivative of your ‘self worth’ and ‘other worth’ and understanding how values work is a key to increasing your financial objectives in practice.  Knowing your purpose in practice and life will help to create a magnificent life and one of inspiration rather than one of desperation.

‘When the mind is present and powerful, and the heart is full of love and gratitude, then the practitioner is inspired and healing consciousness occurs.’  – Dr Nav Ropra.  This is the essence of healing and the basis of The Practice Dynamic.