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National Women Physicians Day

Last Friday, one of our awesome female physicians came to see me. She is leaving and wanted me to know that while she has practiced for 24 years, I was the first CEO to say thank you face to face. While every day is an opportunity to say thank you, February is the month that we honor our women who have chosen the field of medicine. Below is the letter I wrote to our women physicians in Bakersfield.

“As we honor and celebrate National Women Physicians Day, I wanted to acknowledge your leadership and commitment to our hospital, clinics, outpatient clinics and especially to our patients.

In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the United States’ first licensed female physician after having been famously allowed to attend medical school as a joke. My, how times have changed!

Today, because of women like you, girls see BRILLIANT examples of intelligence, compassion and courage. Your positive influence shows our daughters, granddaughters and all women that they, too, can enter the science fields – whether that is in direct patient care, medical research or anything else that inspires them.

You also offer a special bond with patients, who often specifically seek out a female physician because they feel more comfortable in your care. Imagine the powerful impact you have on people receiving medical treatment who may not otherwise have followed through on a screening, procedure or other therapy.

Our mission at Adventist Health Bakersfield is: “Living God’s love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope.” In that spirit, I thank you for the inspiration that you provide and celebrate your success. I am honored that you have chosen to care for patients with our organization.”

There is no leadership without people. There is no business with out people. So, let’s agree to say more thank-you’s and to do so face to face!

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Generosity

Generosity is the mindset and act of giving freely to others. When the pandemic began disrupting life in our business and private worlds, our collective anxieties soared, it became clear that giving boldly in ways that push each of us to think differently should become our focus. Throughout this pandemic, I’ve seen and heard some great generosity taking place within our community.

In a previous blog, I discussed the difference between empathy and compassion. Mindvalley states, “If empathy is the great connector, compassion is the bridge between emotion and action.”

If empathy is the feeling that ignites us and compassion is the catalyst that moves us to action, we live in a mindset of generosity. Imagine the difference we can make in the world if enough people genuinely move into action!

As time rolls by and COVID-19 lingers, let’s turn our empathy into action, and then let’s take everything up a notch. What can you do this week to be more generous in more creative ways? How might you push yourself and those around you to think bigger and bolder about giving in ways that may even make you a bit uncomfortable?

Let’s get out there and make a bold difference!

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Do No Harm and Trust

In life and work, there is generally  pressure to “stack up”. We feel as if there is something wrong with us if, for example, our work, our outcomes, our department, our engagement scores aren’t at top quartile or top decile, we feel the pressure. The list could go on forever.

In healthcare, we have an oath: Do No Harm.

When we cause harm, such as a UTI, ulcer, or another type of infection because we didn’t either clean the room correctly, wash our hands, the dishwaters wasn’t the right temperature: we leave the patient vulnerable. But that isn’t the real issue; it’s that we broke trust. The patient trust us when they choose to come to us for care. The physician trust us to provide safe care. The family trusts us to take care of their loved ones–our teams trust us to do no harm. We break trust when we cause harm.

There are at least 17 Bible versus about trusting God because He’s always there for us. Psalm 28:7 states, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song, I give thanks to him.”

Sweet: when we put our faith in God, He will find ways to return that trust. He will guide us and protect us.

What a great example. When our patients put their trust in us, we are their shield. We return that trust with “do no harm” care! While doing this, we tap into our values, be brilliant, be love, be a force for good. When we “do no harm”, we stack up.

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Compassion – Leadership

As a leader, are you feeling a bit exhausted dealing with COVID-19? Yeah, me too.

Navigating all the anxiety and stress is exhausting. Worry about finances and our community is exhausting. And what about the fact that we don’t have a clear end in sight? Exhausting.

Throughout all the uncertainty, my friend Shaun, reminded me about the difference between empathy and compassion.  In case you’re interest, compassion is when you feel the pain for another person (empathy) or you recognize that the person is in pain (sympathy) and then you do your best to alleviate the person’s suffering.

That’s huge, right? The first step is to dive into empathy by walking in someone else’s shoes. The next step is to respond to that empathy by acting with compassion.  I don’t know about you, but responding to the problems I see around me helps me move from exhaustion to hope.

So, this month, let’s start focusing on compassion. It’s time to put our compassion into action and lead the way in making a difference in  the world.

Are you ready to join Shaun and me?

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Amazing Nurses

With Nurses Week just around the corner, I look forward to celebrating the vital role our nurses perform every day at Adventist Health Bakersfield. We have some fun activities planned for you!

On behalf of myself and the entire executive team, I want to thank you for honoring our mission of “Living God’s love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope.”

It’s no coincidence that Nurses Week starts on the birthday of Florence Nightingale, one of the original pioneers in health care. But I see today’s caregivers as pioneers as well – in addition to the compassionate, high-quality care you deliver as part of your daily (or nightly) shifts, you are also learning new technology and best practices designed to keep our patients even safer and put them on the road to recovery. Because of you, we see people’s lives changed for the better.

So, although we use this one week each year to publicly celebrate our nurses, please know that we appreciate you not just this week, but every week! We realize you didn’t enter the nursing field for recognition, but sometimes it’s nice to hear it anyway: “You are amazing!”

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Teachers – You Inspire Us

In the healthcare world, May is our season for celebrating – Nurses Week is May 6-12, followed directly by Hospital Week. Yet, I realize that this is also National Teacher Appreciation Week and the month when so many teachers, students and their families would be enjoying those many year-end activities such as award ceremonies, concerts, classroom parties and graduations. How much this COVID-19 crisis has changed for all of us in 2020 …

At Adventist Health Bakersfield, I’m happy to report that we have chosen to move forward with our celebrations, although they will look much different than in past years. It is my prayer that your school celebrations will return, in some form, soon as well. But, until then, I wanted to take this occasion of National Teacher Appreciation Week and acknowledge your contributions during this unprecedented time in history.

I know how much you must miss the personal interaction with your students, but I also know that your commitment to finding solutions that still meet their educational needs is yet another example of your devotion. You may not be teaching in your classroom, but you are teaching life lessons that will positively impact the children in our community for years to come. You are showing them what it means to care, that even when the world turns upside down – we still work toward our goals.

After all, if not for the dedication, commitment and positive influence of the teachers in our lives, we would not be able to fulfill our organization’s mission to provide health, wholeness and hope.

Each of our employees at Adventist Health Bakersfield – whether they have followed a career path that led to direct patient care or taken another, non-clinical role within our organization – owes a tremendous debt to the teachers in their lives.

Simply put: Your work inspires ours.

So, as we all find ways to find the joys and celebrations in this “new normal” of ours, please know that we appreciate our teachers and we thank you for your service to this community. As much as this world has changed, due to COVID-19, please know that my hopes, prayers and gratefulness for your great work remain the same – Happy National Teacher Appreciation Week!

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Leadership Journey

Imagine this…I’m writing to you in the future.  Make that: the not-so-distant future.  You’re now several years down the road of your leadership journey, traveling through new territories in your profession and making discoveries about yourself along the way.  As with any good venture, it’s always helpful to have a road map.  While there are not “shortcuts” to becoming a seasoned leader, there are certainly best practices that will shine a light on your career path as you move forward.  So, think of the following advice from me to you as a set of travel direction-and please know that I wish you a wonderful trip.

Congratulation on working for the best hospital in Bakersfield! I know that as a leader, you may still be trying to find your feet and learn the ins and outs of healthcare, but stick with it.  I guarantee you the best is yet to come.  While I don’t want to spoil the mystery of the unknown, I can reveal that you will experience so many wonderfully rewarding moments and meet the most incredible people in your future. And, yes, many of your wildest dreams will come true.

But there’s a caveat: You will have to work hard to make your dreams happen.

This road you’re on won’t always be smooth- as a leader, you’ll encounter your fair share of bumps, chasms, and forks. There will be times when you want to give up and throw in the towel – and everything else, for that matter. Refuse.

By turning challenges into opportunities, you will find the success that once seemed unattainable.  But you won’t always succeed. You will fail time and time again.  That’s OK,  because failure is an inevitable part of every personal  leadership journey.  It’s important to pick yourself up, retrace your steps, look at what went wrong, and learn from your mistakes.  After all, obstacles will be a constant in  your life.  But don’t let this discourage you; everyone can get temporarily lost on  a journey.  Failure teaches us life’s greatest lessons and often shows us a better way of doing things. Refuse ever to let failure get you down.

Repeat: Everyone fails.

Leader – now there’s a word that may have once seemed like an enigma to you. But the term will become synonymous with your name and your approach to taking care of people. Of course, leadership is also a word compatible with risk. And not all are bad. You took a risk when you left school to take a new job, and again when you moved to another department – and both paid off.  Continue to take chances. in the future, how “lucky” you are in the professional world will be determined by how willing you are to take calculated risks.

So, as you navigate your leadership journey, let your dreams guide your path. Keep the people you love and respect close to you. Delegate responsibility. Keep naysayers way. Your ability to take calculate risks and your incurable optimism will bring you to great heights – both as a leader and in life.

Dare to go beyond: You have the ability, make it happen.

From the future, I encourage you to make the most of the opportunities and the challenges that come your way every day. Just like the beloved Dr. Seuss wrote in “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” reach for the moon – it’s yours for the taking…if you go out there and grab for it with both hands!

Good luck and Godspeed.