Omaha daily bee., 1906-05-20
Paid for Being Pleasant.


enough to secure special business training,
says the Chicago Tribune, the office of
the physician. the surgeon or the dentist
offers one Of the most attractive means
of earning a livelihood and one in which
the diplomacy which is one Of the essential
traits Of so many women can be used to
great advantage.
Anyone who has ever had business in the
ONCE OF any medical practitioner in Chi
cago who enjoys anything like a lucrative
practice is familiar with the office assist
ant She it is who says that the medical
man is engaged, or that he can be SEEN
1t is she who writes down the appoint
ments, answers the telephone and-most
important duty Of all-is pleasant to the
caller
In a large measure it is true that she
gets paid for being pleasant, Doctors will
not for a moment have in their offices
young women who are sour-faced, disa-
greeable, tactless or overbearing. The doc
tors, dentists and surgeons appreciate to
the full the Importance of the medicinal
value of a fresh appearance, a wholesome
manner and an unfaillng tact.
Patients who are physically i'll are most
susceptible to psychological influences.
They are depressed by things which would
have absolutely no effect upon a person
in normal health. The medical man, to
whose ofhce the sick man or woman comes,
wants his patient to be In the best possible
condition. mentally as well as physically.
II is within the power OF the office assistant
to create an atmosphere in the office that
is restful and helpful to the patient.
The wait before the doctor is at liberty
| can easily be made a pleasant half hour
instead OF thirty minutes of torture, as it
| was before the doctors saw the value of
polite, deft attention on the part of the
ONCE assistant.
woman who has enjoyed the unenviable
experience of being in need OF physicians
services In New York, New Orleans, Boston
| and Chicago is responsible for the state
ment that, all other things being equal, the
patient OF Chicago doctor receives more
J understanding treatment at the hands OF
a medical man than does the patient of q
medical man in any Of the other elite,
/ in which she has been H. The woman
says that in Chicago the good influence OF
| restful colors and harmonious furniture In
doctors waiting rooms is better under
stood than It is elsewhere and that a Il
more adequately supplemented by the hu
man element that is found in the assist
| ants.
The young women who exchange small
talk with the patient during the time o
waiting and who put or keep the patien
In the best possible frame Of mind form
a large class of women workers in Chi
eago. There are hundreds of them in IN
Stewart the Reliance, the Columbus Me
mortal, the Marshall Field and the othe
big buildings In the downtown district. Il
which there are almost as many doctors
offiees as there are bees In a hive
The youns women, like many younl
women workers, have no organization
or clubs Many Of them have been In the.
present positions for years, and once
girl has established herself as a capabI
reception room woman she is seldom on
OF place. The need OF capable woms
who can make the way Of the patien
easier IL too great
In some OF the offices the attendant keen
the books OF her employer. but in some II
: stances her only function is 10 receive ps
tients and make things as pleasant as DO.
sible for them.
That Is why, as one Of them describes 4
they are paid for being pleasant" an
why In this particular line OF endeavor. Al
naturally cheerful young woman with tax