Gabe's check-in 7/5/22
What is weighing most on your heart, your mind, and your soul right now?
Here’s my answer.
For me, it's the tragedy in Highland Park. How much is enough to get us to come together and do something about gun violence? And, the irony is that yesterday was supposed to be a celebration of what's good about the foundation of our country.
I think Dr. Angela Weyand (@shematologist) said it best on Twitter:
I'd like to explore a question. How do you plan for the future when it feels like we are barely surviving from one trauma to the next? Because as hard as all of this is, a good strategy can't just be reactionary. We need to be able to be proactive. We need to be able to make investments in our positive future potential. We need to find a way to compound the effects of what's good in the world. And, that takes time, resources, focus, and persistence. The solution that comes to mind is that we need to be able to have parallel conversations. It doesn't make sense to bury our heads in the sand when tragedy strikes, but it's also not fair to hijack all of our long-term plans and interests for the drama of the day. There's just too much drama. All. The. Time.
When I don't know what to do, I go back to the basics. I ask for help and I reflect on my personal core values and vision. This week I had multiple calls with trusted mentors and coaches. The top values I'm passionate about right now are 1) curiosity, 2) play, 3) trust, and 4) flourishing. My vision is for a sustainable world where people and the planet can thrive. Thinking about these helps me ask other important questions. What is the best use of my time? How do I avoid regrets when I'm old? Who do I want to work with? What are my strengths? Where do I need to grow? How can I help others reach their potential? How can we have an impact as an organization?
I also want to ask you, what are your personal core values and vision? If we are going to co-create an organization for change, we need to talk about these things. What drives you? What scares you? Where do you want to go?
I hope you'll consider these questions as you review this week's updates from across Medicine Forward:
We have until Aug 1 to tell @HHSGov what we need to strengthen primary care. Please flood their inbox with your demands and amplify them to all your friends! Link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/06/27/2022-13632/request-for-information-rfi-hhs-initiative-to-strengthen-primary-health-care
Prior-auth update: We're getting back into the swing of things transitioning to summer schedules. Tatiana and Brian and I are meeting tomorrow to sync up and discuss strategy. This is still the primary focus of our energy as a group.
Retreat: We need one. This has been brought up many times since our inception. Last week I had a great call with Janice Mancuso from the Osler Symposia. Janice's passion is putting together events that bring doctors together to have fun and meaningful connection. This is likely to be a small gathering (20 or less), so speak up if you'd like to be included or help with planning.
My last year: Many of you have heard me say that my commitment to lead Medicine Forward is a 4-year term. The end of that term is coming up in September 2023. My #1 goal is to do what I can to help us have the most impact possible before my term is up (not taking my foot off the gas). My other goals are to help the organization become sustainable without me and to find my replacement.
Accelerator & funding: I've thought and thought about ways to make Medicine Forward work for the long haul. I don't believe we can depend on all-volunteer physician leadership forever as our only plan. One idea I keep coming back to is that we create an "accelerator" for healthcare transformation. The concept would be to build a value-aligned program to help great social entrepreneurs and companies find sustainable funding & increase impact. There are a few of us interested in this idea. We are in the early stages of defining and researching what's possible. I'm excited to explore it more.
That's it for my thoughts and updates this week. If you are interested in getting involved in any of our initiatives (ALL IN wellbeing collaboration, student wellbeing scorecard, prior auth project with ACP, the Mighty Network steering committee, resident unions, other, create your own), please let me know. In the words of my friend (the other Gabe), “Let’s be part of the solution”.
May we learn from our past, live in the present, and envision/co-create a better future together. I invite your suggestions for how to make Medicine Forward better. And please, poke holes in my ideas anytime. Learning is how we do this.
Sincerely,
Gabe