Never Waste a Crisis with Dr. Rose Marie Thomas

If your business isn't working the way you expected, it's not because you're bad at business. It's because no one ever taught you how it actually works. We were trained to master algorithms in medicine, but when it comes to revenue teams and growth, we were never taught anything. We weren't even told to figure it out. We just assumed somehow we'd know. Like it would magically make sense. But it doesn't. The era of the seven Figure Physician CEO is here. And it's not about working harder. It's about learning entrepreneurship as a system. The same way you mastered ACLs and pals, you can master the algorithm of building a profitable scalable business. That's why I recorded the seven Figure Physician CEO audiobook. Whether you're building a medical or non medical business, and whether your goal is your first million, first 2 million, first 5 million, first 10 million, this is where the journey starts. There is no calvary coming to save us. We are the Calvary.

So.

So go get your audiobook now. Www.entremd.com 7Figurebook. And let's rewrite the narrative for physicians starting today.

Hi, docs. Welcome to the Entre MD Podcast, where it's all about helping amazing physicians just like you, embrace entrepreneurship so you can have the freedom to live life and practice medicine on your terms. I'm your host, Dr. Una. Well, hello. Hello. Welcome back to another episode of the Entre MD podcast. You know, I am excited that you are listening and I'm also excited because I have the wonderful Dr. Rosemarie Thomas, a pediatrician in the beautiful island of Trinidad, and she's our guest today. She is an amazing physician, an amazing human, explores all dimensions of life. So much fun to be around. So you're going to get so much out of this as far as wisdom goes and strategies and, you know, action steps and all that, but you're going to have so much fun with this. So, Dr. Rosemarie Thomas, welcome to the Entremd podcast.

Thank you very much. I'm really honored to be in the VVIP room with you.

Vvip. I love it. I love it. And if you're listening to the podcast, you're good. This is one of those you're gonna need to go watch on YouTube as well because she's like, here. So beautiful. Her office space is beautiful. I was going like, I thought I was the host here. Okay. So you need to check her out. She's just phenomenal. So I want you to take a moment to introduce yourself to the listeners.

Great. Well, my name is Rosemary Thomas, and I come all the way from Trinidad and Tobago, trained in the States. I consider myself a world citizen. Born in Canada, lived in the States, Jamaica, back to Trinidad. So I'm all over the place. But it's good because it means I have a perspective that's different. I help parents who are anxious about their child's well being, and I'm intentional in my advice in health, learning, and parenting. Yep, that's me.

That's you. And your practice is called Frontier Kids Pediatrics. I've never asked you, why did you pick that name?

That's a great question. It's called Frontier Kids Care, and we call it like a medical home. And because we think we're at the frontier of health. So frontier.

There you go.

Office to this new location, like 12 years ago. And did I tell you I was a pediatrician for 25 years? Just about.

You didn't say that. 25 years, people.

25 years.

Some of you listening are 25. She's been a pediatrician the whole time.

Yeah. So we think we're at the frontier. We aim to be at the frontier of what's happening in medical care. And that's why I'm in your business school, because I felt I needed to do something really important when the pandemic started.

I love it. I love all of it. Now, you have a unique take, right. On how you practice pediatrics and how you, you know, I mean, anyone listening from Kids Care you should already see. But what is your unique spin? Right. What is the difference between your practice and other practices in the area?

Well, part of it is my worldly perspective. And what we say is we prescribe distilled wisdom as a healing remedy. So you might say, well, what is distilled wisdom? Distilled wisdom is like our experience of standard pediatric care. And we take that and blend it with your stories. The patients come with such amazing stories. Now, West Indians are born storytellers. We tell a story for everything.

I didn't know that.

Oh, Anansi. Anansi stories. That's what they come from. Yeah. So we take that, the patient's stories, their pain, their anxiety, their wins and their challenges, and we blend it and distill it down. And we use, I have the West Indian frame of looking at life. So when we bring it, it's culturally appropriate, but still, it can be on the world stage. So that's what distilled wisdom is. And when we do this, the result of it is that parents realize the gifts that their children are and we unlock their full potential so they can be the best that they can be for their future, given their gifts. You know, everybody has gifts. So a child with cerebral palsy has gifts. A child on the autism spectrum has huge gifts. And our job is to help that child unlock those gifts and open the gifts and unlock the key to the full, you know, the door to their full potential.

I have not heard this. This is. And we've talked quite a bit. This is so good. So give me some of those stories, right? Like when you say a child with cerebral palsy has a gift, a child on the autism spectrum has a gift and all these other things. Give me one or two stories from the patients in your practice. Right? Some of those that you've distilled down.

Yes. Okay. So like for example, I have this 16 year old and he, you know, I give a tiny lollipop when they come for their visits, 25 calories of sugar or something, just a small amount. And they know it's only a special time when they come for their annual visits and stuff. So this 16 year old looks at me, he has Asperger's or he's on the spectrum. He says, Dr. Rosemary, I know why you give lollipops. You know, I said, really? Why? He says, that's to make patients keep on coming and coming and coming. And I'm like, okay, now you found me out. Or you know, another one will say, I'll say to little kid, would you like, you know, when they have their birthday, they get little presents like a little dinosaur or a car. So I say to one, would you like a dinosaur or a car? And he says to me, very straight faced, I want a dinosaur car. When they come with this, you know, and you see the thing about it, play is the cornerstone of everything we do. Because play is children's work and especially children time like this when people are so anxious, the kids love to come into the office and they get to chat and you know, play, pretend doctor, pretend anything, you know. So those are some of the stories the other day too. I mean I love to see children with developmental issues because they're just, there's just so much you can do. And I felt so good. This teen, he's like 21 now and his mom, I've known him forever and his mom brought him by just to say that he, you know, he finished university degree and he's going to do technology. And there he is posing with me, this child who had, the mother was in tears so many times concerned about the child and here he is, a gift to the world, really.

Wow. Wow. So that means when families come to you, they're not just getting pediatric care in the traditional sense of it. They're getting a whole package. Almost like they're getting a. I want to say a parenting coach, if you will. I mean, that's probably not the best term to use, but it's a whole thing. And you're lending them your belief, which I find is something so powerful for kids to see that somebody believes in them. They may have a label or they may have been told, you can't do this. But there's so much power in a doctor looking at them and telling them, you can do this. Right. Because we're the quote, unquote, smart ones. Right. Like, if my doctor thinks I can, then maybe I just can. That is so good.

Well, you know, Dr. Una words have power, and we can use them for good or bad. So I'll give you another story. I saw this mom who went away to the US Virgin Islands, and she came back many years later, like when the child was, like, about 12 or so, and he had, you know, mild allergies. But I saw this baby at birth, right? And the mom says, while she was away, Dr. Thomas said, you're perfect. Because I say this, your baby's perfect. And I just say it and I move on.

Yeah.

He held on to these words when the child was going through, you know, particular illnesses. And when she told me that, I was so humble because I never knew that people hold onto your words like that. And if you say something not so nice to them or even you think it's okay, but they hear what their. Speaks to their pain, and that doesn't work out too well for them. You might never see them again because you said something that they didn't like to hear. So words have power.

I love that you're integrating all of that in your practice. That's so good. So, so good. I'm sure it's a big. It's a big separation factor where people went from your practice to another practice, and nothing's wrong with any other practice. I'm sure they have their stories, too, but you can't reproduce that. It's not the same as amoxicillin for an ear infection. Right.

It's.

It's a whole package. And. And that is so beautiful. And it's so funny you say that, because I didn't do the stories in the way that you did, but I brought some personalities to my practice as well. And it's so Funny, because. And it was the moms for me, right? It was the moms. Because I'm like, they have such a hard time. Don't have as much support as moms. We don't realize how this journey is going to be. Right? So it's like a rude shock. Like, wait a minute, you know? And. Yeah. And then the second guessing, like, am I breaking my kid? Am I doing the right thing? So many times they'll come in and they're crying, and it has nothing to do with the child. It's like, I'm failing as a mom. And I would always go, like, you're doing an amazing job. They look at me funny. Like, I'm like, listen, you bathed the kid, right? You fed the kid. You brought him for his appointment. You're keeping up with stuff. Yes. You may be tired, yes. Your hair may look crazy, but you're doing a great job. This is what mothers do. And one day I was leaving a room, I was like, all right, amazing job, mom. You should pat yourself on the back. You're doing great. And she's like, you know, this is the reason I come here, right? Like, you're like my therapist.

Yes. Yes. That's so true.

Right.

That's what she said.

And it made me stop and think. When you do that, it does make a difference. It does. So listening to you, it gives me chills. Like, this is so good.

Sometimes half the time I would say they come not for the problem that they came for. They came for something else. Or they came with. Remember, they come with anxiety. So my child has fever. Will he get brain damaged or whatever. My child has colic. You know, am I a bad mother? So you really speaking. So I am a coach. I agree with you. Every day you coach people. And, you know, the distilled wisdom comes from your own stories. For example, when my firstborn was a baby, you know, and you're a doctor, you're supposed to know everything, right?

Yes. Yes.

Really bad colic. And people would stop me and say, that child has colic. And I'm like, how do you know there are no socks on the child? Or you have no cap on the head or whatever. And I was going berserk. I was tearing my hair out, I was tearful, and I'm a doctor. And luckily my pediatrician said to me, he told me about being a good enough parent. It's a book by Bruno Bettelheim. It's called A Good Enough Parent. And that allayed my fears so much, I just started to relax, and I Realized, you know what? I'm good. I'm studying, doing exams, being a mom, being everything. No, I'm good.

That is so good.

So you bring that wisdom.

Yeah.

Your pain, your stories, your challenges, your wins to what you offer to patients.

You know, that is so good. So good. Okay, now let's talk private practice and the pandemic. So everybody had their plans. Everybody was like, 2019, December 31st. Everybody's like, well, here comes 2020, our best year yet. Right? And then Covid shows up and there are lockdowns, and people are terrified of coming in and all of that. So many practices shut down, and gratefully, yours is still here. So what kind of challenges did you face during the pandemic, and what did you do to respond to those challenges?

Okay, that's a great question. Well, I called the. You know, I called the pandemic, and the response just pp, not ppe. With private practice in the pandemic. Right? Yeah, not ppe. It's ppe.

Okay.

But I heard someone say recently, never waste a good crisis. And we were in absolute crisis. As a matter of fact, today we have our third small lockdown. So it continues ups and downs. And I just got so busy during the pandemic because I said, I am not going to be obscure. I am going to fight this. I am a fighter. And I don't. I think you may know that I dance. I dance, you know, I waltz and Latin dance and stuff. And, you know, two years ago, I did a waltz exams, and someone told me, no, you can't do this. I mean, you're not good enough yet. And I thought, if you tell me no, that's yes. And I changed schools. I did three exams and got honors in it.

Wow.

But I think of the pivoting because there was a certain point in the waltz exam, I couldn't get the step correctly. And I just practiced and practiced and practiced, and then all of a sudden, one day, I just pivoted butter. So that's how it was with my practice in the time of COVID I joined the Entre MD Business school because I listened to your podcasts, and I really was in Automobile University. I listened to every single podcast. I would be just like, wow, oh, my God, this is. And I have to do this. And scared, nervous, concerned about financial things, I decided I'm going to join the business school. And it has been the best thing that ever happened to me.

Wow.

And I think the biggest thing that happened to me, you know, if you have a private practice that you're now starting, it's like building a new house. But here am I now. I have an established house, and I have to renovate. Renovation is always more difficult. And you know what the hardest part of the renovation was, but the most important part, your message. I went back to that message about 50 times, I swear to you, until I think I got it right. And it may change, because times change.

Yep.

My message, I kept going back to the beginning, back to the beginning, back to the very beginning. Who do I really serve? What are their pain points? What am I doing? And once I really figured that out, which is what I got from the business school and the amazing Dr. Yuna and the amazing, amazing group of pediatricians. I shouldn't say pediatricians, a lot of pediatricians, but the amazing group of doctors there was. I got support, I got ideas, and I mean, I have just been going from strength to strength. I engaged a marketing consultant to help me because her business is down now, but she's amazing. She repurposed videos. I learned how to do videos, Facebook lives, email marketing. And I tackled my finances and my schedule. One of the things I really, really love that I did with the schedule is how to get these patients. We created a system of e postcards, electronic postcards, so they get like, you've got mail in there. You know, either WhatsApp on the mail stating you've got, you know, you missed your appointment, we'd love to see you, or we do birthday reminders. So the first day of every month, we do a birthday video to all the patients who are born in that particular month. And we send out emails to them, and we get about a 10% conversion, which is really quite good, I think.

That's good. That is good.

Yeah. I learned how to do TikTok and I had fun doing it. But everything, though, is intentional. There's absolutely nothing done that is not intentional because you have to have purpose. You can be all over the place, but. Which is how I was before, I think. But I got focus and I got a clear idea of what I have to do to get through this. I tackled my finances, which were. It's not exactly my favorite thing, but I really started looking at how we spend and cut down on expenses and saw, you know, different ways to do things. And then the third big thing I did was I started the telehealth platform so patients can see me virtually in the office. And, you know, Dr. Rosemary is here to see you. It's slow to pick up because culturally, that's not our thing. People like to come in and talk and touch and feel with stories virtually don't really cut it.

And we have to tell those stories.

Yeah, but we try. And the other thing we've done to. So I've launched telehealth platform and I've reorganized my Learning not waiting menu. So previously when you come into the office, you sit down and you learn something while you wait. So we would put, you know, little video clips of things I had done in the old days. Nothing like what I do now. But now, you know, everything is really video ready and we show them things, listen to different music, but most importantly, we promote our message. We sell our practice. Now that's so huge for me because I am like you, an introverted introvert. Don't let the smile fool you. I really get. I love dealing with my patients and my moms, my dads, but I get my energy recharged from solitude. So being out there was just like the scariest thing I've ever done. But I'm doing it afraid and I'm doing it, you know, with purpose and just doing it because I tell myself I can do hard things.

I can do hard things.

So the Learning not waiting menu is like the TV room now is virtual. So that's the YouTube channel. So just launched that. Thank you. Thank you. We had launched it before, but now we had to reimagine it to fit the present times. So the resource center that's in my mind, the Distilled wisdom, is now on Frontier TV as a YouTube channel. So that's my latest win. Oh, my goodness.

Okay, hang on, because I'm going to have to stop you because all these things you talked about could be three or four podcast episodes. Okay? So I'm going to unpack this so people get this now. First of all, the reason why I'm taking the time to do that is this is because people's successes, you can find them in their messages, right? So a lot of the things Dr. Rosemary Thomas just said is packed with clues as to why this is working. So number one, you've been in practice for 25 years. You could have said, nobody can tell me nothing because I've been practicing for 25 years. But you are willing to, to renovate, like, completely revamp, like, listen to you, like, 10% conversion rate, right? My YouTube channel, my, like email marketing. This is not language that physicians who've been in practice for 25 years use. Right. And to hear you adopt that, it shows that you have a growth mindset. So for everyone listening, growth mindset, that is One key to success, then the attitude in the face of a crisis. It could have been whining, complaining, taking the position of a victim. But here, what she said, she said, I will fight this. I'm not going to be obscure, right? I am not going to waste this crisis. And that's the attitude to have. Because it may not be a pandemic, but there will be challenges. What will your response be? Right? And in a time when everybody was shrinking back, cutting down on what they were spending, all of that at the beginning of the pandemic is when she's like, yeah, I guess I'll sign up for Entre MD Business School, right? Like, and that shows the value for investing in yourself, right? The value for taking a chance on yourself. Like, you bet on so many other things. Why not bet on you? Because I have never seen the level of uncertainty that showed up during the pandemic because it was like, nobody knows what's going on. Like, everything that could not be changed was changed. All the schools were closed, right? Doctors were being laid off. Never heard of before. Every human being is wearing a mask. Who'd ever seen that before, right? We don't know when it will end. We don't know what the government is doing. There was so much uncertainty. But you still said in the midst of all that, I'm saying yes. To me, I had to write this down because it was so good. If you see me looking down, that's what I'm doing. And then she's like, so I went back to the foundation. So, you know, if you're not in alternative business school, the first stage after you define what your business is is the message stage, right? Who's my ideal client? What pain point do I solve for them? What solution do I give them? What's my I help statement? And someone who's been in practice for 25 years can say, I don't need that. But you heard her say, I went back all up to 50 times again. That goes back to that growth mindset. That goes back to, I can make this better, I can learn more, I can get my foundation even stronger. It's a growth mindset, right? So success leaves clues, started telehealth. And I love your learning, not waiting. That is so phenomenal. Like, why wait in the waiting room when you can learn in the waiting room? I sell my practice now, right? And I remember you saying that, posting that in the, in the Facebook group for the business school, that now I'm comfortable selling my practice. It's so amazing. And I can do hard things. I can do hard things. And that's something you've said and said and said that, in fact, if someone says, I can do hard things, I have to look. I was like, I'm sure Dr. Rosemary Thomas did that post. So this is so good. Thank you for sharing. I just want to unpack it because I need people to see. There's just so much gold in that, and it shows why it's working. You have a YouTube channel, so we're doing a Speak to Grow challenge, and Everybody's starting a YouTube channel. You could have said, I have a YouTube channel. But you're like, no, I'm going to reimagine it. I'm going to make it even better. And that's why your Frontier kids care. And that's why you're leading the way, because of all that. And it's true. It's not flattering. You know, I don't flatter people.

That's the truth.

Excellent. Okay, so now I want to hear when. So now that you've done this, what impact has it had on your practice? How has it changed how your patients perceive you, how you're perceived in the community? What has it done for you as a person?

Well, good. That's a great question. There's been tremendous growth as a person because, you know, you have your ups and downs, and we still have our ups and downs. I've learned to take life easy. I'll give you that story at the end. It's a really cool story, but the parents love it. They say, Dr. Rosemary, love seeing you on YouTube. And not so much YouTube yet, but on Facebook and Instagram. They may not comment, but when they come in, they say, by the way, I love everything you're doing. I have this one dad, he texts me and he says, you know, I just love what you're doing. Keep on doing it. And, you know, I started asking for people to just post their reviews on Google for me.

Yes.

I never did that before. Never. But you have to be intentional. So I called three of my parents, who I know, and they were like, oh, we are so happy to do that for you. And they posted such really lovely reviews that I really feel honored to have. And I never reply to reviews. They're there. They come good or bad, and I just leave it right there. Fortunately, they're mostly good, but I don't need to reply. It's just what they feel, and I'm grateful for that. We are seeing couple telehealth visits each month. We do more. We're now monitoring the progress of it. We have our mailing list, so people are coming in for their birthday checkups. And what else is happening in the frontier? Kids? We just feel all. Although we are anxious about what's happening, we feel very optimistic about the future because we've done the hard work. We've done the hard work, and life will go up and down. So you want to hear my take life easy story?

Yeah, let's do it.

So that's the next thing about all of this. You just have to take life easy. You can't stress about all the ups and downs because you'll get yourself grade too early and stuff like that. So I remember going to an American Academy of Pediatrics meeting a couple of years ago in the days when we went to real meetings, right?

Yeah.

I saw this really distinguished gentleman who had a badge on which said, 40 years a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. And I'm like, wow, 40 years. How does that happen? So I went up to him and I said, this is in New Orleans. Okay. So you can hear the accent. And he said to me, just take life easy. So I'm like, wow. Do you know the next time I went back to a meeting there the person at the desk hands me this purple badge and I'm like, what is this? She said, well, you remember 20 years. I'm like, what? I'm shocked because despite all the ups and downs, stuff happened, and there's progress even when you didn't know progress was being made. So when I'm going through difficult times like we are now, I wouldn't lie to you, it is difficult. I remember you have to just take life easy, do the hard work, and just know at some point, some point you will succeed things, you will have your ups and downs, but at the end of the day, you're a better doctor. You're a better everything, better person. Yeah.

Take life easy. Easy, Right. So every time you face a crisis or at times something doesn't go your way and all of that, just remember Dr. Rosemary Thomas in New Orleans and take life easy. And I love that you said that even though it doesn't look like a lot is happening, you're making progress. Because I think is especially important for entrepreneurs, because in the beginning, whether you are growing or scaling, whether you're starting or scaling, the beginning of that process, you look like you're putting a lot in. And you thought, I'll do this one YouTube video and I won't be able to see the number of patients who will come Banging on my doors. And you're like, well, they didn't come right, but if you'll stay consistent, you'll get the results. You know what I mean? And so in that place between, I'm excited. Let's do this. And I'm excited. I saw the result in that interval there. Just take life easy.

Yeah, I love it.

This is so, so, so good. All right, so we have a lot of doctors who are listening and who get inspired by the podcast, who get action, steps to take from the podcast and all of that. What final words will you leave them with?

I would say you have to know your purpose in life, and you have to know your purpose in what you're doing. If you don't know your purpose, as Shakespeare has said, to thine own self be true. If you don't go back to the essence of who you are, you can't be authentic. So go back to it. Find out what it is. Find out your passion, what you like doing. Is it stories, is it dancing, is it fashion, is it art, literature, it. Whatever it is, you bring it into your work, and then the work becomes easier and you thrive because you're doing what you love. And in time, everything will be just fine. You work hard. Stay to your message, know what you ideal clients pain is. And every time you see them, it's so easy to do your videos and so on now, because every time you see someone, you ask, what is this person's pain and how can I help them? And then you get paid well for it, right?

Yes. You serve and you earn.

That's correct.

You serve and you earn.

Yes.

So when I was asking for final words, I didn't know you throw that bomb at us. Purpose. That is so powerful. And, you know, I think that's the cure for burnout in a lot of cases because it brings meaning to your work and it brings a level of fulfillment that nothing can really give you. So especially if you are running your own thing, your own ship. Just bring all of you, you know, bring all of you. And this is just so good. Thank you so much for sharing this. So where can people find you? And I also want you to tell us how we find your YouTube channel. Right? So we can go there, we can support, we can subscribe, we can share it. This amazing doctor who dispenses distilled wisdom and amazing stories.

Well, if you want more of distilled wisdom, come and check out our a Caribbean pediatric practice on Frontier Kids care dot com. You can converse with us on Facebook and Instagram. Frontier Kids Care as well. We have Frontier tv. I think the channel is still called Frontier Kids care. That's our YouTube channel. And what else do we have? Yeah, I think that's most. We're on Instagram, Facebook. Yeah, that's me, I think, for now.

And I love is Frontier Kids Care. Everywhere, people, everywhere. Okay, how about that for consistency or branding? Thank you so, so much for coming on.

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your stories, thank you for sharing your perspective, and thank you for sharing the things you did that are making you successful so people can borrow those. Right. And go do the same thing. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for coming on.

And thank you. It was an honor to be in the VVIP room with you.

The vvip.

I did it. You did it.

But this is good. I'm happy you came to. I'll call it the VVIP Room, too. So thank you for. For coming to the VVIP room.

Yes. Yes.

So everyone listening. If you got any value out of this at all, I want you to share this episode with another doctor in your life and tell them, listen, Dr. Un is amazing, but you need to listen to Dr. Rosemary Thomas. Okay? So do that. You can share it on social media. You can tag me hashtag Entre md. You can tag her hashtag Frontier Kids Care. We'll both look out for it, shout you out as well, and reshare your stuff. So thank you so much for listening, and I will see you on the very next episode of the Entre MD podcast.

Okay, bye.

Hey, if you love listening to the Entre MD podcast, I want to invite you to join Entre MD on Demand. It is my signature subscription program that gives you access to library of business courses designed to help you do one thing as a physician entrepreneur, and that is to thrive. Just head out to entre md.comondemand and I'd love to have you join us. See you on the inside.