Demand excellence in your medicine and you

A slightly different blog today.

A little while ago I gave a lecture on creating ‘Excellence in Medical Education’. One part spoke to the doctors and nurses themselves and impressed upon them to be the best that they could be. Forget about the administration and the budget and all those other things we can’t control. Were they the best at the things they could control? Their knowledge, their skill, their ability?

Were they leaving a legacy, one that their children would be proud of? Or were they just going to work? Was their work, their mission in life, or was it something that paid the rent? Did they remember a time when they loved their medicine, had a thirst for knowledge and looked forward to being great at what they did? Had all the economics and management and other things that happen around all of us, make them settle for being less, for knowing less, for giving less?

Sometimes it isn’t easy. In the last years of his life, Renoir continued to paint. Crippled by the pain of arthritis, every stroke was difficult. But he persevered! He was asked, “Why do you continue to paint when it causes you so much pain?” He answered, “The pain passes, but the beauty remains forever”.

My friends, I know that you are already of the group that wants more and that’s why you are part of this site and get this email.

Commit to being someone who chases that beauty, commit to excellence. Push to a new standard.

Study that extra paper, read that extra chapter, listen to that extra podcast, watch one more lecture, go to one more conference. Whatever it takes!

Someone once said that “The secret to living is giving.”

We must give the best of ourselves to those that come to us in need. That patient is not an anonymous someone. You may not know them, but they are someone’s father, mother, sister, brother, son or daughter. They’re in pain, scared, worried and depend on us.

Aim high! What’s the harm in being unrealistic? You know, it’s those that are unrealistic, that won’t settle for less, that change the world.

Set a new standard.

Be OUT-STANDING…and sometimes, you know, it only takes a little bit more, than what you’re already doing.

I hope you’ll join me at the EM CORE, where I’ll squeeze in a small part of the ‘Excellence’ talk. It’s important. We sometimes just get caught up…