Trust: A quality of mankind (or woman)

Over ten years ago, when Bruce and I met one another, we asked each other,  what we felt it took to have a good relationship.  Mutually we agreed of most importance was trust and communication.  While there are many additional attributes necessary in a relatioship, such as honesty, dependablity, compassion, and empathy, trust and the ability to communicate are still my favorites. 

These first basic principles that Bruce and I established, are universal to any relationship, and can be easily applied to my relationships with my clients.  Another universal property of trusting relationships is they have to involve both sides.  One side can start the relationship, but it takes two to make the relationship a good one.  Only by working together can a relationship reach it’s full potential.


Recently, the value of trust and it's fragile nature has caused me to inwardly reflect on it's delicate balance and my role in it's development and maintenance.   Trust is something that must be earned and maintained with consistent actions.  Trust takes time to build and can easily be broken.  It is a living, breathing entity, shared by at least two parties and is only maintained through our consistent actions and words.

Intellectually understanding that as humans, we all makes mistakes (whether by direct action or lack of action, intent or lack of intent),  the task of establishing a trusting relationship doesn't have to be difficult.  I asked myself, who am I and what do I do or don't do to help my clients feel they can trust in my judgement and ability.  Can I see these qualities in myself:  truthfulness and honesty, empathy and compassion, consistency, sensitive to the needs of my patients and their owners, committed to the effort to do the best that I can in all that I do, actively listen to my clients and staff, willing to give my client and patient the time they deserve, and a willingness to admit my mistakes, apologize for them, and learn from them in order to become a better doctor and a better human being.  The task of maintaining the trust placed in me requires  my willingness and conscious effort, through my actions, to daily strive to  improve on aforementioned qualities with each person that I have the honor and privilege in calling my client, my husband, my parent, my child, my fellow man.

You, the other side of this trusting bond, are my gauge to how I am doing as a doctor and as a human.