The importance of keeping medical spaces clean is perhaps obvious: clinical settings need to be clean in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of patients, many of whom may already be in unstable conditions. It extends beyond the purely practical, however. Patients often enter medical facilities with a sense of trepidation, in a state of mind that can easily be unbalanced by the slightest things they perceive as wrong.
In this article, we spoke to the cleaning team at SMC Premier about why it’s so important to keep your doctor’s office clean, and the difference it can make to your practice.
Health concerns
While the health implications of a dirty doctor’s office aren’t nearly as severe as, for example, a dirty operating room, it’s important that the same level of attention to cleaning is applied to all spaces in a medical setting. If a patient goes for an initial consultation in a doctor’s office before a major operation and finds it piled with junk and covered in dust, they may assume that the rest of the hospital or clinic is in a similar state. At worst, they’ll seek alternative medical care arrangements; at the very least, they’ll be ill at ease, more anxious than necessary at the prospect of their upcoming procedure.
Professionalism
Maintaining a clean work environment is also a core requirement of maintaining an outward display of professionalism. As a doctor, whether you like it or not, your office plays a large part in how both your patients and co-workers will judge you. People make their initial judgements in seconds, primarily based on subconscious perceptions like how someone is dressed and the environment they work in. If patients and co-workers are more prone to trust you from the beginning, you’ll have a far easier job working with them in the future. Undoing first impressions is no mean task, and in some cases, it can be impossible.
Fewer distractions
It doesn’t need stating, but working as a doctor can be incredibly hard work. For many, their office will be a safe space in which they can catch their breath for a few minutes on long shifts, gather enough energy to get through the rest of the day. If your office is dirty, it makes it a less relaxing space, and you’ll be more prone to distraction, like thinking about cleaning it. Keeping it a clean and comfortable environment can make the work week feel easier to handle, as well as having a positive impact on co-workers and patients.
Health standards
Depending on where you operate as a medical professional, there will also likely be health standards to keep in line with. These are understandably quite strict in most medical settings, and compliance is not just a practical necessity, it’s a regulatory concern. Ensure that you understand the regulations surrounding your doctor’s office in the area you operate in and go above and beyond the minimum requirements.