Editor’s note: See related stories.
At the end of September 2023, I had a full shoulder replacement.
Dr. Dante Marconi, an orthopedist with Shore Physicians Group, performed the surgery at Shore Medical Center.
I met him through the newspaper when I did a story about pickleball and wanted to talk to an orthopedic surgeon about preventing injuries. I was impressed enough to set up an appointment, liked what he told me in the office and a few months later it was out with the old and in with the new.
I was happy with the results. Dr. Marconi removed a 40-year-old screw from a previous shoulder operation as part of the replacement. He eased the chronic pain and returned my range of motion, but what really stuck out to me about the experience wasn’t something I expected and had little to do with the surgery.
Over the years I have had the pleasure of various hospital/ER visits for operations and kidney stones and treatment for rugby injuries (from my younger days), so I’ve been to my fair share of medical offices and hospitals.
As I’m sure most people who’ve had the same pleasure of going to the hospital or a doctor’s office can attest, it isn’t always a pleasant experience.
The unpleasant part isn’t just knowing you need medical treatment. It’s the person-to-person treatment that can be cold and detached, when you feel like a number whether at the doctor’s office or the hospital.
My past experiences weren’t great.
I had the screw put into my shoulder at the University of Pennsylvania hospital in the early 1980s after multiple times of seeing and feeling my arm bone try to disconnect from my shoulder bone (the humerus pop out of the shoulder socket) in rugby games.
My most vivid memory from that surgery, beyond the pain I felt when I woke up after the operation, was something that happened before it.
When I was lying on the gurney outside the operating room I heard someone inside say, “Wheel in the next piece of meat.” It was not the best feeling. The treatment from the staff at the time wasn’t much better; it was cold and impersonal, including from the nurses, whom I usually adore.
When I went to an emergency room a number of years ago for a kidney stone, the pain kept me shifting from one foot to the other. Two male nurses watching joked to each other that I looked like I was dancing and didn’t hide that they were making fun of me. It made me want to puke on their shoes.
For another kidney stone attack that came at work, I called my doctor’s office to get the approval to head to a nearby ER, but they said I had to come to the office a half-hour away. When I got there they made me wait for two hours before seeing the doctor despite seeing I was in obvious pain. The stone passed when I was in the waiting room.
I changed doctors after that.
What I have experienced more recently has been different.
Whenever I have been in various doctor’s offices, the staffs have been much nicer, from the front desk to the nurses and aides to the doctors. It’s as if someone from the hospitality industry introduced the concept of customer care.
That’s why I was impressed with the treatment from my first visit to Shore Physicians Group and Dr. Marconi through my stay at Shore Medical Center for the shoulder replacement. Everyone — from the person signing me in to all of the nurses, doctors and aides — was friendly, courteous and working to put me at ease.
That level of customer care surprised me.
I thought it was the kind of thing you expect at a resort where you’re a guest, not at a hospital.
That is why I wanted to interview representatives of the hospital and SPG to talk about the customer care aspect of treating patients. I wanted to know if my experience was an aberration or was the new standard operating procedure. (Pun intended.) Turns out I’m not that special. Good to know that’s the new standard.
David Nahan is editor and publisher of the Ocean City Sentinel, the Upper Township Sentinel and The Sentinel of Somers Point, Linwood and Northfield.