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Our Greatest Strength Lies Within
Our health-care workforce includes a dynamic group of individuals willing to go above and beyond the call of duty for the sake of another, a testament to the notion that health care ought to be a right, not a privilege.
I know. You have read the reports on workforce overspending that underestimates the human and financial cost of questionable practices. True. But, what often goes unnoticed is the tireless devotion and innovation that health-care providers employ to fill the system's gaps.
Imagine the 7-year-old cancer patient whose last round of chemotherapy failed. Recognizing that an experimental treatment is his last hope, a benevolent group of oncologists, nurses and social workers spend long hours convincing an insurance company to cover the cost of therapy. He is treated and shows improvement. Or the diverse group of physicians who collectively understand that youth violence is not the mantra of delinquent hoodlums, but rather a public health problem that is modifiable and preventable. Against tradition, they collaborate with local youth to address the issue. Community members start talking to each other and take steps to address youth violence.
Examples like this occur across the U.S and with them, the emergence of a new generation of health-care leaders who possess an incredible array of talents and gifts that will facilitate the path toward a healthier society. Medical students are being educated to look beyond diseases to understand how social influences affect well-being. Promising health-care leaders are being trained to not only ask the tough health-care questions in our country but to answer them with clarity and forethought. Providers across the country are volunteering their skills and time in the service of others, sometimes without compensation; and, that is cause for hope.
A system is only as good as what is put into it. By extension, an unsupported workforce compromises the system. To ensure that the workforce is not weakened, we must create new paradigms in medical education that cultivate the manifold gifts our future workforce currently possesses, generate incentives that keep talented health-care providers in the system and support innovative approaches that ensure the health of society. In short, we must dare to think outside the box.
By
Chisara N. Asomugha
|
June 30, 2009; 9:34 PM ET
| Category:
Doctors
,
Health Care Reform
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Posted by: mahogany_will | July 7, 2009 11:02 PM
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Dr. Asomugha,
Great blog post! We need more discussion and education around how caring communities create change in health care outside of the "fee-for-procedure" system that tends to dominate the debate. Thanks for the work, looking forward to more!
RG
Posted by: rishigarg1 | July 4, 2009 11:50 AM
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Dr. Asomugha,
Great blog post, looking forward to more great posts! We need more discussion around how communities work together to create change outside of the traditional "fee-for-procedure" approach that health care debates typically focus on.
Rishi
Posted by: rishigarg1 | July 4, 2009 11:45 AM
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Dr. Asomugha,
You are an inspiration. Thank you for illustrating a way out of the box. I don't hear of these cases on my favorite cable news shows, and that is a shame. This type of innovation in your stories of hope is essential in changing the way this country looks at health care.
I am grateful for your dedication.
KAH
Posted by: kamron11 | July 4, 2009 10:54 AM
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I say YES! YES! YES! To you for bringing it to the forefront, to the individuals involved in getting involved and to the hospital that has already implemented a mentoring program, that pairs students from inner city public high schools with resident physicians in an emergency department. This act exposes the students to careers in medicine that may have seemed intangible to them before, those that dared, did so.Outside of the box.
Posted by: SColeman01 | July 3, 2009 5:05 AM
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Dr. Asomugha,
Thank you for a very informative look on the inside of a very much overlooked group of individuals. In a society that places so much emphasis on things that don't matter, thank you for pointed us in the right direction.
Will Moreland
Posted by: stac0405 | July 1, 2009 2:05 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
Dr. Asomugha,
You are truly a leader in your field. You have been called for such a time as this. I am excited about your suggestions and look forward to the impact you will have on the medical industry.
Kari