The thinking behind this category is to link current events in the news to topical issues affecting healthcare collaboration.

Even the President commented that one cannot run for election without claiming to be an agent of change.  All the publicity about change made me wonder why most of the images regarding healthcare change are so negative.

A surgeon quipped, “Only a baby desires change!”

What are your thoughts?  Do you agree with Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter that change is disturbing when done to us, but exciting when done by us?

In “Surgeon Frustration: Contemporary Problems, Practical Solutions,” (Contemporary Surgery 69(2):76-85, 2003), Mike Peetz and I wrote that practicing surgery requires a lifelong commitment not only to improving clinical skills but also to developing effective interpersonal skills, such as communication, team-building, and conflict resolution.

In “Tectonic Plates Are Shifting: Cultural Change vs. Mural Dyslexia” (Frontiers of Health Services Management 24(1):11-26, 41-42), Len Friedman, Tom Allyn, and I wrote that healthcare professionals may choose to respond to change in a defensive manner, that may feel protective but lead to mural dyslexia, the inability or unwillingness to see the handwriting on the wall. Frameworks can help us make sense of sytems and respond positively to the changes that disrupt our thinking and routines.

Ned Hallowell in “Crazy Busy:Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap! Strategies for Handling Your Fast-Paced Life,” pointed out that the antidote to worry involves:

• sharing concerns with another person
• obtaining the facts
• formulating a plan of action

I hope that by creating a safe learning environment, we can share, learn, and deal with change collaboratively.

Kenneth H. Cohn
www.healthcarecollaboration.com