Editor’s Note: A challenge to us all
In a high-profile address to the leadership of my institution, I was called upon to inspire others. I worked intensively on this project. I entitled my address “Have Courage and Be Kind”, a princess movie motto. This was particularly pleasing to my children.
The five high priority courage-related issues I included in my presentation were:
1. The courage to have a vision
2. The courage to face burnout or moral injury sustained while in orthopedic practice
3. Competency training
4. Structuring an academic health system
5. Research and its impact on an academic health system
I was personally inspired by the book “Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference” written by physician-scientists Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony Mazzarelli. It proves the notion that kindness boosts energy, positivity, the ability to cope and is a way to counteract moral injury. Showing empathy toward others can inspire empathy in them.
I also advocated for building community while in practice. Community is more than teamwork. It is multiple teams working well together. With connection, we can all achieve and can embrace change. This was clearly demonstrated by our response to imposed practice adjustments during the COVID pandemic. For me personally, I got to know my coworkers better during the pandemic. The major challenges moved the camaraderie in the department forward. We found that our roles are all important and under those dire circumstances we had similar values.
The team concept also applies to competitive orthopedic practices using the same hospital facilities. There are shared interests to acknowledge. Both groups rely on operating rooms & intensive care services which hospitals provide. Private practice groups at times rely on tertiary centers to accept patients with severe trauma or who need complex revision surgery. These complex cases, in turn, provide experience for residents and fellows during their training programs and increased the expertise of the attending surgeons. For community success, each of the two entities rely on each other. The public benefits from this arrangement.