“We can complain that a rose bush has thorns, or we can rejoice that a thorn bush has roses” - Abraham Lincoln
I
love that quote. It resonates in my brain as I drive along I-55 and
think about the ICHP Spring Meeting with MSHP in St. Charles, Missouri.
It’s a warm, beautiful day to drive with the sun roof open to let the
wind blow out all the stale winter air in the car. As the wind swirls
around my head, it helps blow out the mental cobwebs from a long winter.
How
often we get caught up at work or at home looking at the negative
aspects of our jobs or our long “to-do” list at home. There is so much
to do. There are so many projects to complete. There is so much I need
to accomplish this week…or month…or year.
Our list of tasks to
complete at work is like the thorns. They can be painful, or at least,
undesirable. Evaluations to be finished, reports to be written, slide
decks to create, journal articles to read, meetings to attend, carts to
be stocked, orders to be profiled and filled, IVs to be prepared,
presentations to give, classes to attend, exams to take – the list seems
endless. While we are in the midst of these endless day-to-day tasks,
they do appear to be thorns. We may lose sight of the patient care we
are providing, the medication therapy we are preparing, the patients we
are educating, the patient families we are comforting, the students and
future pharmacists we are teaching, or the knowledge we are gaining for
future interactions with patients.
It’s all about our frame of
reference. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? It’s easy to complain
about the tasks (thorns), so that we lose sight of our role, our
professional purpose. It is much harder to get to the mindset that we
want to get to work or to school to celebrate how lucky we are to be in a
position to be helping others. Our activities, our work, help others.
Our efforts improve drug delivery. Our drug therapy knowledge can help
reduce costs and improve patient care. Our actions at work or school can
inspire others. What we do every day for patients helps create roses.
It’s up to all of us to try to see them.
There were plenty of “roses” at the Spring Meeting:
Insightful
presentations that helped inform us of new drug therapies, and new ways
of treating patients, including an amazing video asking each of us if
we would treat patients differently if we knew what they were thinking
and worrying about
Wonderful break-out sessions where informal discussions occurred
Poster sessions where real Q&A took place and students began to blossom with confidence
Roundtable workshops where smaller groups had meaningful dialogue with mentors
Residency directors and preceptors compared and contrasted programs
Time to scope out upcoming job opportunities
Time for shopping along the historic cobble-stoned streets of St. Charles with quaint shops and historic markers
Time to see old work-friends to
catch up on their family lives…laughing and big smiles when old
classmates got to see each other and reconnect
Time to share family pictures and see how rapidly friends’ children are growing up
These were the roses I saw.
One can either see the roses and the
positive attributes that a professional meeting provides or complain
about the location, timing, or cost of the meeting, and see only the
thorns. One can look for the rosy faces of the patients we are helping
and caring for, or see only our thorny to-do list getting longer every
day.
It’s up to each of us, every day, to decide what we will see.
Thanks for caring.
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