Thirtysomething academic pediatric hospitalist practicing in Madison, WI
Monday, December 19, 2011
Why I Love My Job: Reason #35
Monday, December 12, 2011
No Pain No Gain
Sunday, November 27, 2011
A Sunday Night PSA
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Life Lessons From Swayze
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Home Is Where The Start Is
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Double Negatives=A Positive Attitude
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Day Ten: Renew, Restart, and Revitalize to Continue the Journey
Friday, September 2, 2011
Day Nine: Network Your Way To Professional Success
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Day Eight: Practice Personal Courage to Participate In and Resolve Conflicts
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Day Seven: Identify and Live Your Personal Values
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Day Six: Promote Your Personal Development Every Day
Monday, August 29, 2011
Day Five: Stay the Course or Change the Course
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Day Four: Chart Your Course
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Day Three: Define Your Purpose, Your Mission and Your Goals
Friday, August 26, 2011
Day Two: Your Thoughts Matter
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Day One: Taking Responsibility
Today's step towards success and happiness is called "how to take responsibility for your life". Do you truly take responsibility for your thoughts and actions? I know I have fallen into a pattern of blaming others for any dissatisfaction I may feel at work. I blame the schedule, the culture, the politics, the leadership, etc. It's an easy trap to fall into and not the first time I've fallen. I'm trying to see my life as a series of choices I've made rather than things that have "happened". You really do have control over your life. Or at least how you react to the things that occur. If you know where it is you ultimately want to be, you can begin to take steps, make choices, to help yourself get there.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Ten Day Challenge
I came across an article called "Ten Days to a Happier, More Successful Career and Life". Ok, I'll bite. Anything I can achieve in ten days is worth a shot. So, I plan to read a step each day for the next ten days and see if I come out happier and more successful in the end. The good news? I'm taking you with me. Day one: How to Take Responsibility for Your Life. More to come tomorrow...
Sunday, August 14, 2011
A GPS For Your Life
Thursday, August 4, 2011
I Have Trouble With Math
1. If I drive for more than 7 hours straight in a crappy rental car without cruise control, power windows or locks and stained upholstery, I will curse myself for not choosing instead to drive our brand new SUV.
2. I live in a very small world. I know this because at the Pediatric Hospital Medicine conference I ran into my med school roommate whom I haven't seen in 9 years and found out that she just took a job in Tucson that my friend from residency recently left in order to take a job in Austin that I had applied for and didn't get but told her how great it was so she applied for it a year later. Make sense?
3. I have a friend who I only see once a year but we can still pick up where we left off and spend hours talking about our lives. Everyone needs that kind of friend and sometimes I forget to give thanks for that friendship.
4. If given a set of evaluations from medical students and residents, and they are positive in nature, I will carry them around in my bag and pull them out at lunch and read them over and over again (to myself, not out loud!). Occasionally, I am my own cheerleader. Embarrassing but true.
5. If I want to be a true leader, I have to stop being afraid to own who I am and my thoughts and opinions. I have to establish my credibility by walking the walk and coming correct in spite of those who have different ideas of what the future should look like.
6. I want to be a true leader.
Sorry, that's six things I learned about myself. It was a good week.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Something Smells Like Band-aids
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Welcome to My Thursday Night
Monday, July 11, 2011
World, Meet Lucy
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sweat the Small Stuff. You'll Be Glad You Did.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
I Almost Called This Post "Friends In Low Places"
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Only the First Checked Bag is Free
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Don't Let the Door Hit Me On the Way Out
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Joke's On Me
Monday, April 25, 2011
Begging For a Voice of Reason
Monday, April 11, 2011
Humbled.
Monday, March 28, 2011
When One Door Shuts, Keep Knocking
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Devil Wears Prada. And Scrubs.
I was on service and was caring for a patient with a persistent pain issue. She had undergone multiple studies looking for the source of the pain but nothing was found. I consulted a surgeon to get some guidance as to where to look next. He made a recommendation that did not make logical sense to me, so I planned to say "Thank you for your time" and move on. Afterall, the patient was on my service. On a side note, I don't usually ignore my consultants' recommendations. In fact, I often err on the side of being overly gracious and thankful for their help. BUT, I feel very strongly that I am responsible for the well being of my patients and if I don't think that a recommendation makes sense I won't jump to follow it. Anyway, the next day the surgeon called me to ask why I hadn't done what they said to do and you know what? I suddenly saw myself as 3 feet tall and the surgeon as 6 feet tall. I got sweaty and clammy and stammered over my words as I tried to politely explain that I didn't understand their logic and didn't feel like I wanted to follow their plan. I did my best to dance around the fact that I was really saying "I don't agree with you and I plan to do what I want to do instead." The surgeon strenuously repeated his plan and I timidly danced around the phrase "I don't want to do that because I think you're wrong." He went so far as to threaten to move the patient to his service so that he could do what he wanted and I wouldn't be involved at all. Ugh. I felt completely undermined and self-conscious and wasn't at all sure I was ready, after being at this job for 8 months, to go head to head with an experienced surgeon. In short, I felt bullied. In a big way. But I went ahead and implemented his plan even though I felt sick about it. I knew it wasn't going to hurt my patient, but I firmly believed that it wouldn't help. The next day a new surgeon came on service and completely changed the plan that I had put into place after being bullied into it. And she got better. "I knew it! I told you!" I screamed. On the inside.
If you google bullying in the workplace you get a ton of hits. Did you know there is a Workplace Bullying Institute? There's also a blog called Bully Free at Work with links to a book and an e-course. Wow. Now you know.
Friday, March 4, 2011
The Flight of My Ideas
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Embracing Failure With A Smile
Monday, January 31, 2011
How To Give Feedback. Or Not.
1. When giving feedback it's important to focus on an employee's specific behavior, not the impression you had of it.
"I noticed you didn't read the journal article I chose for journal club this week and as a result, could not effectively contribute to the conversation. I will presume your perceived disinterest is not a reflection of me, but a result of something unrelated to work."
2. Feedback that is generic and vague is also useless. Be specific.
"You could have been more effective as a leader had you put forth the effort to support me in what you know is an undertaking of mine to bring more scholarship into our work as pediatricians."
3. Whenever possible, request to give feedback.
"I'd like to give you some feedback on how your actions, or lack thereof, affect not only my morale but the group's as well, especially when they see a person in a leadership position fail to complete what was billed as a mandatory activity."
4. Preface with the positive. Point out what the employee is doing well before delving into areas for improvement.
"I respect your knowledge and experience and was hoping you would bring some purposeful, focused advice to enhance our level of comfort in analyzing and understanding medical literature."
5. Try to look at your employees' work through their eyes and try to understand their approach to their work.
"Tell me, what was your understanding of you asking me to reschedule my journal club a week earlier on short notice because you were going out of town and wanted to be there? My understanding was that you wanted to be there in support and to provide valuable insight and experience. Oh wait, that's why I wanted you to be there. So, thanks for showing up. Maybe next time you could read the article? That way we both win.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday Morning Quarterback
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Plug for PLA
You’ve finished residency and are embarking on your career as a pediatrician. Maybe you are deep into fellowship and enjoying the challenge of academic life. Maybe you are comfortably settled into a group practice and building relationships with your patients and their families. Maybe you are trying to find your passion and traveling around as a locum tenens physician. And maybe, despite feeling accomplished and relieved that you are finally out of training, you ask yourself “What now?”
After finding myself in that exact position in 2007, I came across an advertisement for the Pediatric Leadership Alliance (PLA). At the time, I was struggling with how to make a name for myself in academic pediatrics as a young physician. I was intrigued by the opportunity to network with leaders in the field of pediatrics in such an informal environment and to be able to practice leadership skills in a practical, hands-on format. After attending the PLA, I possessed a renewed sense of confidence and felt part of a larger community of pediatricians who had the same values and drive to succeed. More importantly, I had the tools to channel my energy into a productive and exciting career path.
Over 3,000 pediatric professionals have attended the PLA and 79% of PLA alumni advanced into greater leadership roles within the Academy (including myself!), as well as in hospital, medical association, government and corporate environments following their training. Another PLA session is being offered March 23-25th, immediately before the Annual Leadership Forum (ALF) at the Schaumburg Renaissance in Schaumburg Illinois. The PLA is specifically designed to provide real-life scenarios in order to practice skills and learn from one’s colleagues. Sessions include “Strategy Development: Charting Your Course” and “Dynamics of Change: Moving People & Culture”. A dynamic keynote speaker, Dr Lewis First, (Editor-in-Chief, Pediatrics) will describe his leadership journey and how leadership skills learned were embedded in advancing into more key roles in the profession of pediatrics. To promote networking among participants, the PLA has dedicated time for casual conversation during the reception, dinner and workshop meals. It was during this “downtime” that I was able to really form relationships with the other participants and facilitators. More than enjoying the company of my colleagues, I was inspired by the different people I met and by the work that they were doing.
In addition to the foundation for leadership formed at the conference, the participants will be encouraged to sustain their development through long term follow up and goal setting. Although a critical component of the workshop, the follow up is entirely personalized and voluntary – the support is provided by the PLA staff and the AAP as a whole but it is up to the individual to follow through on the goals set during the conference. This was the most difficult part for me personally, sustaining the momentum I gained at the PLA, but I was able to refer back to the PLA website and workshop materials including the book The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner. A full 13 hours of CME credit can be earned by attending this influential conference. Early registration (before Jan 30, 2011) is $395. Housing at the Schaumburg Renaissance is approximately $300 total for both nights. For more information visit www.aap.org/moc/members/PLA/ or email PLA@aap.org.
Please challenge yourself to answer the question “What now?” Consider sharpening your leadership skills with a group who pledges to “enable pediatricians to become effective learners and leaders to advance their profession, and to care and advocate for children”.