I am blessed with a fabulous boss/mentor/friend on the ACO side of my work life, and this year during my evaluation, she challenged me with some leadership stretch goals. A couple of them weren’t surprises to me; I have been working on them for a while and need to keep honing my skills. One of them struck deep, though: use empathy for points of view different than your own in framing your plan. I do that already…don’t I? The feedback presented an opportunity to up my game.
Read MoreThis morning, I heard a meadlowlark outside. This bird’s song always makes me think of spring, and of hope. It made me think about all the meadowlarks in my own life, especially those who made such a difference in the last week. You know these folks, too: they build hope using their actions and words, they help us think of spring. We will make it to spring, and summer, and the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks, meadowlarks. Keep singing; we need you.
Read MoreI like to say “yes” to new opportunities. It is fun to try out different types of work, learn new information, stretch my brain and grow my abilities. Sometimes “yes” leads down an exciting new path and sometimes it results in a dead end; either way, I always learn something about myself and frequently about the subject.
As I took on more projects (and got older!), there were various points in my life where I could no longer stretch the hours in the day to cover the volume of work to be done. Initially, I did the same thing we all do: I tried to work harder + faster + better + longer to get everything done. Eventually, I realized my life needed a reset and sorted out a way to prioritize the current things on my plate and make room for the next new thing I really wanted to do.
Read MoreI have been practicing full scope, rural family medicine for 18 years now and I still don’t know everything I need to know. When I come upon a puzzle I don’t know how to solve, I joke with patients that I need to “phone a friend” to get help with the answer.
Some days, I am privileged to be the friend someone else is phoning for a tough problem; those opportunities allow me to give back just a little bit of the support I have received over the course of my career. If your number is in my contacts app, it’s time to say thanks. You know I’ll be calling you for more great advice real soon.
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