For those of you are friends with me on Facebook (and if you’re not already, please do as it’s a blast), you know I was teaching at the 41st Annual Southwestern School for Behavioral Health Studies.

First, let me express my appreciation to the Board and Michelle Brown for bringing me to Tucson to present on “Achieving Clinical Excellence.”  If you’ve never attended this particular event, mark your calendar for next year.

This year, the conference theme was “Staying relevant in the 21st Century.”  By the time I took the microphone to speak, 350 dedicated professionals from all around the country were on their fifth and last day of the conference.  What a crowd!  Excited, energized, and dedicated to doing their personal best for consumers of behavioral health services.

I’ve already heard from several folks who were in attendance, relating a personal or clinical story illustrating the principles and practices I talked about during my presentations.  Thanks very much for sharing these stories with me.

Meanwhile, you can find the slides I used yesterday below.  Feel free to download, use, and forward them to interested friends and colleagues.

In parting, I thought I’d relate one of my own experiences of excellence.  It happened two years ago when I was presenting at this same conference. That morning, as I reached into my suitcase to get my clothes, I quickly discovered I’d left my slacks at home!  Like this year, I’d worn shorts, a T-shirt, and flip flops on the plane, so no help there. Panicked, I called my co-presenter, Dr. David Mee-Lee—after all, he is a psychiatrist.  He offered me an extra pair he had. It was a great idea that we both knew would never work since David is about 8” shorter than me.  So I called the front desk.  Now, the venue for the SWS for Behavioral Health is at the beautiful Loews Ventana Canyon Resort.  It’s nestled in the mountains, miles from the city.  Plus it was 7 am. My presentation started in an hour.  No store was open at this hour, not even the resort gift shop.  But that didn’t stop the dedicated staff at Loews.  Within minutes, the manager of the resort shop was at the hotel.  We found some pants and a shirt to match but the pants were 6 inches too long. “Not to worry,” the store manager said, she’d take care of it.  Within minutes someone from the housekeep staff—not a tailor or seamstress, just a kind, dedicated person—was cutting and sewing the hem on the pants.  I made it to the conference hall to present with 5 minutes to spare! I’ve never forgotten their kindness and dedication.