Recently I was driving with my son and a friend of his.  They are both 12 years old.  We have a sharing agreement regarding the car radio musical selection.  Mine is country or rock while my son’s presets revolve around hip hop and rap.

My turn arrived and it was time for some country music.  My son and his friend bemoaned this situation and then stated, “all that country music sounds the same.”  In fact, my son’s friend opined that when he was younger, he believed there were only three country singers – one unknown man, one unknown woman, and Reba McIntyre (no idea why she stood out for him).

I was stunned as obviously George Strait and Toby Keith sound nothing alike.  Beyond this, in my way of thinking, if any artists sound similar it would be the genre of music the boys enjoy – not sure if I can tell the difference between Lil Wayne and Baby Bash.  Of course, the boys and most folks under 25 (maybe under 35) can easily discern between these two artists.  Just for the record, I do like some Timbaland stuff….

Delivering high quality health care requires us to understand how others (patients or coworkers) perceive things differently.  Something we do every day and is no big deal may be perceived by the patient quite differently.  Just drawing a patient’s blood brings a significant amount of anxiety – will it be one stick?  What will the test show?  When will the doctor tell me the results?  Something to think about…….