I woke up this morning with swollen glands in my neck for the second day in a row. Since I’ve only experienced this condition once before in my life – it’s not a usual response for me to a cold – I figured I’d better do something about it. My reflexes put me in the mode to hit the “call” button for my primary care physician’s office. But, since it was only 7:30 am, as usual, there was not only no one there but a clear message saying to call between 9 am and 5 pm. If I got through to the office, I knew I’d have to beg and cajole to get either an appointment or a chance to speak with my PCP. That’s when I knew I should consider a different response to the situation. After all, this is the age of health care reform – and I needed to do something different, too. So, I looked up the hours for the local CVS Minute Clinic and found they opened at 8:30 am. You know what? It was a great experience and exactly what I needed for my current medical situation. The nurse practitioner was fantastic. She listened to my history, current complaints and assessment of what I thought was going on. She also considered my desire to treat myself appropriately and at a price point that made sense, ie, if I needed meds then a standard Rx of 10 days of antibiotics was fine with me. Given my positive experience, I believe I’ve created a new ritual for an old situation. Once again, maybe rituals – instead of habits – are the place to start when changing behavior. Thank you, again, John Davis for this …
tEWNvideo says
Cool video, Carol. I hope you’re feeling better. I’m wondering…What would you say makes this (visiting the clinic) a ritual? I guess I think of rituals as being repeated and having some element of ceremony, tradition, and/or meaning. The clinic visit might strike me more as a tactic, or just a simple response. But I dunno. :)
CarolHarnett says
Great push for clarification and debate, Bob. As always!
Here’s where my thoughts were headed.
In our research, we’ve found that a ritual can have several definitions. The one you describe – one that is a rite – is the most commonly used definition.
The definition I was considering here is that a ritual is also a social custom. I received an interesting response from my community on the use of CVS Minute Clinic. I’m suggesting this could be a new social custom for my social group.