In , a man lived in a hospital in Paris. The man could not speak. The man could only say one word. The word was “Tan.” The doctors did not ask about the life of the man. The doctors did not ask about the family of the man. The doctors waited for the man to die.
When the man died, the doctors looked at the brain. The doctors found a hole in the brain. The doctors named the area of the brain after a doctor. The doctors did not name the area after the man.
The doctors followed a routine. The routine was for science. The routine was not for the man.
The Machine with a Pen
I work as a refugee resettlement advisor. I see many people. These people have lost their homes. These people have lost their names. I have a stack of forms on my desk. The forms are white. The forms have many boxes. I must tick the boxes.
Sometimes I look at a woman across the desk. The woman is crying. The woman tells me about the boat. The woman tells me about the water. I look at my form. There is no box for the water. There is no box for the crying. I have a script. The script tells me what to say next. If I follow the script, I do not hear the woman. I only hear the next question. I am a machine with a pen.
Date of Birth
Country of Origin
[NO BOX FOR THE WATER]
The limitation of standardized forms in capturing the weight of human trauma.
A surgeon can be a machine too. A surgeon can use a tablet. The surgeon can use a script. The script is for the consultation. The script is to make things fast. The script is to make things the same for everyone. This is a mistake. A consultation is a conversation. A conversation is not a script.
The Silence on Harley Street
Neil sits in a black chair. The chair is in a room on Harley Street. The room is quiet. The surgeon sits across from Neil. The surgeon is a man. The surgeon has a tablet. The surgeon looks at the tablet. The surgeon asks a question. The surgeon asks what Neil expects from the surgery.
Neil begins to speak. Neil speaks about his father. His father was bald at forty. His father was a sad man. Neil does not want to be a sad man. Neil promised himself he would keep his hair. This is important to Neil. This is the reason Neil is in the chair.
The surgeon does not look at Neil. The surgeon looks at the screen. The surgeon hears the word “hair.” The surgeon hears the word “keep.” The surgeon taps the screen. The screen has a list of goals. The surgeon taps the box that says “Natural result.” The surgeon moves to the next question.
09
The surgeon has finished question nine. There are twenty questions.
The surgeon does not ask about the promise. The surgeon does not ask about the father. The surgeon wants to reach question twenty.
Standardization is a tool. Doctors use standardization to avoid errors. This is good for a checklist in a plane. This is good for a checklist in an operating room. It is not good for a conversation. When a surgeon follows a script, the surgeon stops listening. The surgeon listens for the answer that fits the script. The surgeon does not listen for the truth.
The truth is in the way a man touches his forehead. The truth is in a joke that is not funny.
I walked into my kitchen yesterday. I stood in the middle of the room. I looked at the fridge. I looked at the stove. I forgot why I was there. I stood there for . My mind was on a form from work. My mind was on a box I could not tick. I was following a script in my head.
When you follow a script, you lose the present moment. You forget why you entered the room. A surgeon who follows a script has forgotten why they entered the consultation room. They are there to help a person. They are not there to complete a form.
Eliminating the Sales Advisor
At Westminster Medical Group, the surgeons do not use sales advisors. A sales advisor has a script. A sales advisor wants to sell a package. A sales advisor is a person who follows a path. The path leads to a signature on a contract.
Sales Advisor
- Follows a script
- Sells a package
- Seeks a signature
WMG Surgeon
- Performs the consultation
- Performs the surgery
- Responds to the body
A surgeon is different. A surgeon is a person who looks at the scalp. A surgeon looks at the hair. A surgeon looks at the skin. The surgeon at this clinic performs the surgery. The surgeon also performs the consultation. This is the right way. The person who speaks to you is the person who will hold the tool.
The Specificity of Tools
The tools are specific. The surgeon uses the WAW DUO system for FUE. The surgeon uses the UGraft Zeus system for FUE. These systems are not the same. The WAW DUO has a punch that looks like a trumpet. The punch goes into the skin. The punch rotates.
The surgeon feels the resistance of the skin. The surgeon hears the sound of the motor. The surgeon adjusts the speed. The surgeon does not follow a script for the surgery. The surgeon responds to the body of the patient. The consultation should be the same. The surgeon should respond to the words of the patient.
A man with a receding hairline sees a different person in the mirror. A man with a thinning crown feels a loss of power. These are not boxes on a tablet. These are feelings. A script cannot feel. A surgeon who follows a script is trying to be a machine. But a machine cannot design a hairline. A hairline must be irregular. A hairline must be soft. A hairline must fit the age of the man.
We are Not Numbers
I see many people in my office who have been treated like numbers. They have been through many offices. They have seen many advisors. The advisors ask the same questions. The people give the same answers. No one is happy.
Then a person tells me a story. The story is about a dog they left behind. The story is about a song their mother sang. I put the pen down. I look at the person. We are two people in a room. The form is still there. But the form is not the leader. I am the leader. The person is the leader. We are having a conversation.
The Choice: FUE vs. FUT
A patient might need an FUE hair transplant. A patient might need an FUT hair transplant. FUT is a strip of skin. The surgeon removes the strip. The surgeon sews the skin. The surgeon leaves a thin line. This is good for some patients.
FUE is different. The surgeon takes one hair at a time. This is good for other patients. The choice between FUE and FUT is a medical choice. It is not a sales choice. A script might lead every patient to FUE because FUE is popular. A script might lead every patient to the most expensive option. This is wrong.
Protecting the Donor Area
The surgeon must look at the donor area. The donor area is the hair on the back of the head. The donor area is the bank. You cannot take more than the bank has. If the surgeon takes too much, the back of the head looks thin. This is called over-harvesting.
A script does not see over-harvesting. A script sees a number of grafts. A surgeon sees the skin. The surgeon sees the future of the patient. The surgeon knows that the patient will get older. The patient will lose more hair. The surgeon must save some hair for the future.
Some patients have had surgery before. These patients go to a clinic. The clinic is cheap. The clinic uses a script. The clinic uses a technician. The technician is not a surgeon. The technician follows a routine. The routine is to put the hair in a straight line.
A straight line is not a natural line. The patient is unhappy. The patient comes to 134 Harley Street. The patient wants a repair. The surgeon must fix the mistake. The surgeon must remove the old hair. The surgeon must create a new line. This is hard work. It is harder than doing it right the first time.
Plans, Not Boxes
The surgeon at Westminster Medical Group does not use a sales script. The surgeon asks questions. The surgeon listens. The surgeon might tell the patient to wait. The surgeon might tell the patient to use medicine. Medicine can stop the hair from falling. This is an honest answer.
0%
The clinic offers 0% finance. This is a fact. It is a helpful fact. It means the patient does not have to worry about the money today.
The patient can think about the hair. The patient can think about the plan. The plan is for the individual. No two heads are the same. No two scalps are the same. A script treats every head like a box. A box has a lid. A box has a bottom. A head has a history.
The Brother in the Blue Shirt
I sit at my desk. I have 14 forms to finish. I am tired. I want to use the script. It would be easy. I could finish the work and go home. But I look at the man in front of me. He is wearing a blue shirt. The shirt is torn at the collar. He is telling me about his brother.
I decide to listen. I forget the script. The man speaks for . I learn more in ten minutes than the form told me in an hour. We find a solution. The solution is not in the boxes. The solution is in the man.
“The checklist is a list of words that stops the patient from speaking.”
A surgeon who listens is a better surgeon. The surgeon who listens will see the hair. The surgeon who listens will see the skin. The surgeon who listens will see the person. This is why people go to Harley Street. They want the best care. They want a surgeon who is a human being.
They do not want a machine with a tablet. They want a conversation. They want to be heard. Neil wants to be heard. He wants to keep his promise. He wants to look in the mirror and see himself. He does not want to see question nine. He wants to see his hair.
The surgeon puts the tablet down. The surgeon looks at Neil. The surgeon asks:
“Tell me more about your father.”
The consultation begins. This is the only way to work. It is the only way to live. We are not scripts. We are people. We should act like it.