President’s Message
Is anyone else feeling restless this time of year? A little angsty with anticipation or impatience to just get moving onward through the early, mercurial weeks of spring, to find a steady state of growth in a more temperate climate again? Or, is it just me, and the hundreds of other colleagues in our healthcare system, feeling a baseline of unrest as we transition to Epic this month?In preparation, I have completed the required preparatory courses, listened to many stories from other Epic users, watched a handful of Dr. Glaucomflecken videos, and am eager now to just get started already, come what may. I am ready to move on from the “see one” stage to the “do one” stage (and all the subsequent do-overs that come with learning something new and vast). Yet, after seeing what an Epic “Superuser” vest looks like, I can confidently say my learning ambitions will never reach the “teach one” stage. Sorry Epic, the vest is a bit much.
While adapting to a new EHR is not specific to being a physician, it is something mostly only healthcare professionals can relate to. And trauma -bond over. Depending on the healthcare team, we also bond over long shifts, difficult patient cases, difficult patients, certain body fluid smells, hospital cafeteria food in the middle of the night, etc. There are better things and worse things that we bond over. Things that stick with us and have altered us professionally and personally, forever. Things that remain with us no matter how many years or roles of service we accumulate in this sacred field of human care.
Similar to the “see one, do one, teach one” learning adage, there are some things inherent to the experience of becoming a physician that only those in our profession understand: medical school, three-level licensure exams, the Match process, residency, fellowship, etc. The list goes on, and all of the list items – whether better or worse – bond us in a special way. Interestingly, I imagine the deeply bonding things on that list were a culmination of a moderate amount of strain and stronger rise of our best selves to overcome the challenge. Or maybe its just the doctors lounge food.
It is important to remember those things on our long list, to share our stories about them, when we can, with each other. Who else will not just want – but need – to know our stories? For those who have accumulated a long list, your individual and shared stories are essential to our collective story of the osteopathic physician; a story which gets addended or revised with each generation.
This month, our fourth-year medical students – our future osteopathic colleagues and physicians – will undergo “the Match” process where they find out which specialty they will be training in and where. Needless to say, there is high stress amidst this uncertainty and the general lack of control for such individuals predisposed to thriving with growing mastery of it. Maybe that’s the angst in the air? If you happen to see a fourth-year medical student this month, consider sharing your encouragement, acknowledgment, and stories. And listen to theirs. If you aren’t fortunate enough this month to cross paths with such a future colleague, please consider attending the MAOPS Annual Conference next month, on April 24 – 25th, where there will be ample opportunities to connect with osteopathic medical students and physicians from across the state, where we all reach a “teach one” stage and add to our shared story.