Customer-based research of health care around Lyme
Written by Huib, published Tuesday March 31st, 2015
How could I invite doctors and other professionals in the field of health care to become at least curious to the topic of Lyme disease? At least the majority of them, who are not Lyme Literate, as it is called. As I wrote in the Introduction to my book “… could be interested doctors and therapists, who start to notice they can hardly find any trustworthy and clear information about Lyme in their official information channels. They would probably not let themselves be informed by me, just because I don’t have the appropriate title nor position in their system.”
Should I appeal to their empathic side? That would make me ‘father Theresa’. Should I judge them for being arrogant? That would make me arrogant. Should I remind them of the oath they swore? That would make me a preecher. Or should I treat them as professionals? That would put me back into my old profession as business educator. So I chose to do an experiment instead, using this latter position.
Shall I tell you a secret? When I worked at Nyenrode Business University, doctors were the least preferred client group. Of course nobody told them, because they could still bring in revenues. Do you want to know why nobody wanted to work with them? Because doctors – as a group compared to any other professional group – seem to lack any willingness to learn. They come across as being absolutely right about being right, because they do not listen, but instead “… listen to what they conclude about what they assume that the other is saying. When it is summarized to them what the other one was actually saying, they are amazed by the gap between what they thought that they heard and what was actually said. Since hardly anyone dares to confront them like this, they keep their illusion that they listen well.” (from Shifting the Lyme Paradigm, chapter 12: Under Their Skin)
So how could I invite a group of people who (seem to) have that attitude towards anything they do not believe to be true? A nurse actually discouraged me to try, claiming doctors suffer from the NIH syndrome: ‘Not Invented Here’. So should I invite them or rather shock them into some more open mindedness? I’ll try both and will see where it leads to. If you are a Lyme patient or one of their friends: this is something you can show your doctor.
So this is where I switch from ‘they’ to ‘you’. Welcome, health professionals.
Because I know all professionals are interested in knowing how they perform, in regard to benchmarks, outcomes and customer satisfaction, I did some research for you. This might get our conversation started. So I asked a random group of people with chronic Lyme (n=117) about their perception of the ‘medical professionals’ in general. They perceive this group of service providers – excluding their Lyme doctors or therapists – as ignorant(knowledge), arrogant (attitude) and incompetent (skills). For details, see below. Your clients gave no positive feedback. At all. In any other business this would be a sign, written in LARGE letters, that your time is up as a business. Why would that be different for yours?
So I propose that we will reflect upon what this means together. We will look into the benefits for you of including yourself in the paradigm shift around Lyme. At the risks of you maintaining your current positions. At your risks of really looking at Lyme and helping people who have it. At possibilities you can either take or miss to do your job well and keep your oath.
It is like intellectual Aikido. If you are a doctor or a therapist and would like to do this experiment with me, please mention what question you would like me to elaborate in a comment on this blog.
Cheers,
Huib
Note: [Knowledge (n=51): combination of ignorant (highest score with n=44) clueless, dumb, confused and helpless. Attitude (n=41): a combination of arrogant (highest score with n=27), not investigative, hard and patronizing. Skills (n=41): a combination of arrogant (highest score with n=27), not investigative, hard to deal with and patronizing]
drs. Huib Kraaijeveld
In: Inspiration Lyme Social Science
"This book perfectly describes the plight of millions of patients, who suffer from chronic Lyme Disease in many countries all over the world."
Prof. Christian Perronne, France
"This book is a gift of truth and passion to humanity."
Mia Morales, Lyme patient, USA
"I received the book exactly on the day that I had decided to end my life. Huh?! Yep. I am 35 years old years and have been ill for 19 years. Now I know why: Lyme. Everyone should read this book!"
Miranda, the Netherlands
"This book offers a new practical, human centered way of dealing with health information. It is also ringing a bell for the new time how to work together towards health and thriving."
Kim Schimmler, MD, Germany
"This pioneer's work made it perfectly clear that, when "i" becomes "we", even illness becomes wellness."
Frans Vermeulen, journalist, the Netherlands
"In his crucial work on Lyme disease, dedicated social researcher Huib Kraaijeveld does not pretend to have all the answers, but guides us towards asking the upsetting and essential questions."
Prof. Cees Hamelink, professor Communication Sciences & Human Rights, the Netherlands
"This book reads like a thriller! It touched me deeply and I am sure it will change the course of history."
Linda Graanoogst, journalist, the Netherlands
"Well, I am wiping my eyes and blowing my nose, while tears stream down my face. I guess that is a good sign. You hit the nail on the head claiming that Lyme survivors need 'understanding'. I would like my own partner to read this book."
Anodea Judith, PhD & author, USA
"What an awakening perspective! Huib has successfully set a quantum leap for understanding and managing Lyme disease by common people."
John Wong, bestselling author, Singapore
"A true and unpretentious caretakers' guide to understand Lyme. This book will help you to completely understand what your friend is going through; regardless of the symptoms they have. I wish it had been written ten years ago, because it can actually save lives!"
Cheryl Versalle, Lyme patient, USA
"This book actually speaks to people beyond its target audience (caretakers of people with Lyme Disease): people like me who are not travel companions, but to whom it is not hard at all to have or develop understanding and compassion. This makes the reach of this book bigger, much bigger if you’d ask me. I am amazed a book can do all of this!"
Saskia Steur, business blogger, the Netherlands
"This book reads like an exciting novel, were it not that it concerns a deadly serious issue. It calls to contribute and take care of each other and our world. Read, weep, feel and act!"
Manfred van Doorn, leadership expert, the Netherlands
"A creative and very intelligent vision to dive even deeper into the world of Lyme, to look at yourself, other people, but also the entire world around you."
Friend of someone with Lyme
"The book indicates that Lyme disease can be a sexually transmitted disease. This will cause a tidal wave of awareness all over the world. Like the child in the old fairy tale The Emperor’s New Clothes, who exclaimed: 'But the emperor is wearing no clothes!'"
Ola Aniel Petterson, STD campaign leader, Sweden
"What a brilliant sociological work! I am sure it will have much impact."
Professor Neuropathy, Germany
"This book is a big eye opener. Both for friends of people with Lyme disease as well as for people with Lyme. Or for any other health issues, for that matter."
Martin Möhrke, medical research leader, Europe
"I cannot read any other book for more than two minutes now, in this hell called Lyme. Yet yours I cannot stop reading! I should have put it away hours ago to clean the house. But I simply cannot stop."
Ineke, wife of a husband with Lyme, the Netherlands
"This book is a delight to read. It offers soft candlelight and warm campfire camaraderie on an often dark and lonely journey."
Laura Bruno, medical intuitive Lyme expert, USA
"A very honest and yet witty way of helping those with Lyme disease. This book is full of ideas on how to help your friend with Lyme, as a travel companion on this crazy journey called 'Lyme'."
Lisa Hilton, Lyme advocate, USA
"Both the personal experiences as well as the author’s sharp mind turn this into an incredibly inspiring book that raises the consciousness of its readers."
Kara, ex Crohn disease patient, the Netherlands
"Tempting, informative and eminently readable! Shifting the Lyme Paradigm is an absolute eye-opener for those who are not aware of what the journey of Lyme disease entails."
Terri Mackinnon-Cross, CEO WorldLymeDay.com, Canada
"This book gave us the recognition and acknowledgment, which were like a band-aid on an open wound."
Sara, Lyme patient, Belgium
"Very insistently written based on intensive, almost existential, personal experiences, this book also gives a clear overview of all relevant information for both patients and caretakers."
Jan Eendebak, former chairman Lyme Foundation STZ, the Netherlands
"A relief to read, written by an expert who shares his dedication to his own path with us, and brilliantly written."
Muna, mother of a daughter with chronic Lyme, the Netherlands
"Playful, frightening, informative and encouraging."
Merel, kinesiologist, the Netherlands
"This book made me realize that there is too little known behind the phenomenon Lyme. In a challenging manner the author provides understanding of Lyme disease and suggestions for tackling this disease. I have 'prescribed' this book to many of my patients and mostly astonishment was soon followed by recognition. An absolute must for anyone with (still) unexplained symptoms or the people close around them."
Duco Kanij, osteopath, the Netherlands
"This book guides you through the labyrinth of Lyme swiftly, while it took us YEARS to even get this far."
Eugenie van der Linden, ex-Lyme patient and therapist, the Netherlands
"This book is an absolute 'must read' for everyone! For patients, for family and friends, and for doctors who can finally learn that Lyme is more than what is written in their textbooks and that they should not be able to dismiss "unexplained" complaints as psychological too quickly!"
Anne Fierlafijn, MD, Belgium
"Shifting the Paradigm of Lyme is not like any other book on Lyme that I have read. It appeals to a higher consciousness, and is analytical in an introspective way that is pleasant to read. This book is a friendly and warm reminder that no Lyme patient is ever alone."
Thomas Grier, biologist, USA
"This book show how caring friends can intervene to provide succor and alliance ‘against the odds’ of a potentially serious and very complex illness that is still poorly understood by mankind."
Kenneth Liegner, MD, USA
