Fighting For Better

I have not posted on this site in quite a while. However, today I was inspired to share the weekly blog that Daryl Tol, President of Florida Hospital (soon to be AdventHealth) writes to all employees. This post, following, is an inspiring look at the journey towards perfection and I share it in its entirety. His story follows:

(Team Update - Week of September 9)

 I was sharing the stage recently with three physician leaders. We were talking about the opportunities we have to do an even better job for customers if we all work together. The audience was made up of a large number of primary care physicians and the engagement was excellent. Except in one of the back corners of the room. In that dark corner, one of the participants was leaning back, arms defensively crossed across his chest, waiting. As soon as it was time for questions and answers, his arm shot into the air. Actually, it may have already been in the air like the early press of the buzzer on Jeopardy.

When acknowledged, it became clear this moment was the entire reason our friend in the back corner had come. He grasped the mic, stood up, pulled the proverbial pin in the grenade and tossed his question into the middle of the room. “Florida Hospital has problems and its leaders are imperfect and as long as this is the case, how dare you ask us for our help making it better?” Actually, that’s a summary of a much longer question. It’s not the first time I’ve heard that line of reasoning and it always gives me pause. Florida Hospital has broken bits so we can’t fix it?

Imagine a patient walking into one of our offices with a broken arm. We look at her and tell her that until she gets that messed up arm in perfect working order, we can’t do anything for her! She’d probably have a few choice words for us because she can’t fix that arm by herself. She needs help. She’s willing, which is why she came in in the first place. But our expertise is the only hope she has. Sending her away unaided would be professional malpractice. No one would stand for this scenario related to a patient, but when it comes to working together as healthcare providers, the water gets muddier.

Now, step back with me from this scenario and think of the choice we’ve all made. The choice is to enter a profession in which all of us, every day, fight for better. We didn’t make the choice to win every battle. We certainly didn’t make the choice to win the war. We made the choice to fight. All of our patients will eventually pass away. We can’t provide eternal life or wipe away suffering and tears. We tell people they should exercise, lose weight, or stop smoking. Many don’t take our advice. We deal with the battered and the broken and the imperfect. That includes us. Throw paperwork, technology and regulation into the mix and it all becomes a significant weight on our psyche.

A weight on the psyche has to be dealt with and there are many ways people deal with the weight. One way is to become professional critics. There is an oddity in our human nature that if we can look at the other and point out his or her faults we can avoid our own sense of struggle, imperfection and loss. We can actually feel better because at least we aren’t as bad as…you. But, self-delusion doesn’t have a long-term healing effect and eventually becomes its own kind of weight. There is no nobility in being the sideline critic. Frustration and burnout are the inevitable result.

There is a healthier way to deal with the weight: First, accept the reality that you are fighting for inches, pushing a heavy ball forward. Second, realize that you are not up to the fight alone and that any weight is lifted more easily by a team. God made us to fight battles together, not apart. He made us smarter together. He made us stronger together. He made us more resilient together. He made life more fun when it’s lived together. Even though we live in an isolating time, it is still true that we are better together. That will always be true.

Every step toward our potential will take work. Some of the steps will take years of work. Some may not be completed in our lifetime. Imperfection is built in. Frustration will be part of the journey. There will be sweat on the floor. But there is nobility in this work. There is meaning in this work. It takes courage and commitment and trust and an undying willingness to lean on each other. The reward is progress and resilience and relationship.

Thank you for joining me in my imperfection to fight for better. I’m proud to stand beside you.

Daryl Tol