DYNAMIC!!! So the definition of Kelli’s favorite word is: marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change. I tease Kelli about the overuse of this word but when it comes to Thrive Anesthesia Services that adjective pretty much hits the nail on the head.

I was speaking with a patient and spouse yesterday and the spouse commented on how interesting it is to come in for maintenance infusions because of the changes that are occurring. We are not talking about changes in how Thrive looks but on how Thrive manages our patient’s care. First, every one of our patients has a different story, a different disease process. This isn’t a “one-size fits all” type of therapy. Some people respond slowly, others immediately. Some jump right out of the chair after infusion, others need time to recover. Some have mind blowing results and sadly some do not. Either way our therapies are as individual as the person who is receiving them and although that makes our job trickier we are keeping it that way.

Secondly, the information is as dynamic as our patients. We attend webinars, follow the American Society of Ketamine Physicians (ASKP) online forum, participate on providers only Ketamine Infusion Facebook group and are always on the lookout for continuing education in this new field. As the registration page for the Ketamine and Related Compounds for Psychiatric Disorders conference states, “clinical experience has moved ahead of research-an unusual situation which creates opportunities as well as risks.” This statement is referring to the fact that ketamine is being used all over the world to treat psychiatric disorders and chronic pain and there are thousands of positive case reports BUT the actual research that usually comes before such usage is lacking. Successful protocols are often held as top-secret information as they are earned from experience because there are few protocols to use as a guide. Organizations such as ASKP,  KRIYA institute and administrators/participants in Facebook forums are opening up these secret vaults by sharing protocols, encouraging communication between providers and setting up conferences. The goal of these sources is not a one-up-manship between businesses but a legitimizing of science-based theory that is helping thousands of people world-wide. The clinics and providers that are involved in these groups want our patients to have the best results possible with the least number of visits and side effects. I can’t describe how exciting it is to put these constant changes into our practice in order for our patients to get the most up-to-date and effective infusion process possible.

We are so thankful for our patients who embrace the fact that this is an evolving science. We appreciate their cooperation as we close our clinic to attend a conference because they know we are going to come back with new ammunition for this war they are fighting. We are thankful for the kindness and openness of strangers in this quickly evolving practice who share their success and failures in order to help others. These strangers are providers and patients. We admire and look up to the pioneers in this DYNAMIC practice who were brave enough to commit to something new and then to share it with others. We promise to act like sponges and to pay that forward. There is no room for ego in this process. Ego is not your amigo (saw it on a shirt and feels like it fits, not an original phrase) 🙂