Pediatric Leadership: The New Medicine Cook Children's

Taking care of patients and their families at the bedside is a rewarding experience. The connection that develops between a healthcare professional and the family can be very strong and can be a source of hope for families who are facing difficult times. There is no profession in which this is more ture than nursing. At some point many pediatric leaders are faced with the decision to step away from direct patient care and to spend more time in their leadership role. Doing so can create a mix of conflicting emotions.

The way you treat patients matters in many ways. It can mean the difference between having successful program or practice. More than that, it can affect how your patients recover from sickness or surgery or deal with chronic illness. The culture of a practice depends on all the members, from the front desk to the nurses and even the custodians the patients might pass in the hallway. Everyone plays a role but the doctor can do a lot to make a break a practices ability to have a positive culture.

The treatment of pediatric pain, particularly chronic pain, is a complex issue. Practitioners must take into account the intersection of physiologic, socio-environmental and psychological environment. Many times it is difficult for primary care and specialty pediatricians to develop and execute a plan.

Often when we think about power, we associate it with manipulation and underhanded deals. The reality is that power is not always a negative thing. We each have to use it to reach our goals every day. Understanding what power is and how and when we should use it is critical to thriving in leadership.

We talked last time about complexity and how it is changing the way that business and particularly healthcare organizations must operate if they want to be successful. In order to position ourselves for success, we must have leaders that not only accept complexity but that are agile and ready to change in complex environments.

The world is changing quickly. The world of medicine is no different. Understanding how these changes affect you, your practice and your organization is critical to your success as a leader. At times, the amount of change can seem overwhelming. It feels at times that there is no order, only chaos. How do we survive in this environment?