087: “It’s Not What You Do, It’s How You Make Them Feel” with Cardiac Surgeon, Dr. Ashok V

<p>Making small talk on planes is typically not my style. I love to recline my seat a little bit, pop in my headphones, and get some work done or dive into my current read. 📚</p> <p> </p> <p>I’ve flown from California to Seattle a dozen times, but my most recent flight ended up turning into a rather serendipitous meeting after striking up a conversation with my seatmate. ✈️</p> <p> </p> <p>I’ll leave the story for him to tell, but after a few moments into the flight, Cardiac Surgeon, Dr. Ashok Venkataraman (or Dr. V for short), and I talked non-stop the entire way back to Seattle. 😂 And we covered a TON of subjects – from holistic medicine, mental, spiritual, and physical health, and how to build unbreakable bonds with your patients.</p> <p> </p> <p>It was pretty incredible.</p> <p> </p> <p>One thing that I admired the most about Dr. V was his passion for creating a great patient experience. He works hard to make every patient under his care feel like the most important person in the room, even in the life-or-death situations he regularly faces as a cardiothoracic surgeon. 👨‍⚕️</p> <p> </p> <p>There are plenty of gold nuggets (and a new friendship) all bundled up inside this episode so click that play button and let’s get to it!</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <h2><strong>Gold Nuggets</strong></h2> <ul> <li>(3:00) My chance encounter with Dr. V.</li> <li>(7:15) Why he decided to become a cardiac surgeon.</li> <li>(10:45) How small actions can make a big impact on your patients.</li> <li>(17:20) The thing we often forget and shouldn’t.</li> <li>(21:45) It’s time to stop and smell the roses.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <h2><strong>Links Mentioned In This Episode</strong></h2> <p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ashvmd/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Connect with Dr. V on Instagram</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/venkataraman.ashok" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Connect with Dr. V on Facebook</a></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Get Today’s Show Notes</strong></p> <p>To get access to today’s show notes and connect w