Surgical communities: The pull of innovators, not imitators
Last week, we had a terrific discussion with Dr. Paul Slosar about his involvement with SpineConnect, among other things. He spoke meaningfully about innovation, mentorship, and interdisciplinary interaction as means to enhance patient care. Even more, he suggested spine communities help physicians, administrators, and medical device companies come to a shared vision to serve their patients better and achieve community goals.
Why do you join such communities?
A recent survey explored how well online physician communities are being received. According to a Manhattan Research survey, sixty percent of physicians already use or are interested in using online physician communities, while forty percent of doctors are not interested in participating. Dr. Sanjeev Shukla, the principal author of Physician Compact: A Tool for Enhancing Physician Satisfaction and Improving Communication, encourages physicians’ increased collaboration in achieving strategic goals through a balance of what physicians expect to “give” the group and what physicians expect to “get” from the group in return. He calls this a social contract where collaboration becomes a way to shift perspectives so that physician life is a learning journey rather than a conspiracy.
This shift in perspective is also a time of opportunity, one in which we define a new healthcare experience and role for ourselves. Dr. Ken Cohn believes this formula is what good medicine is about. This is a vision for innovators rather than imitators of the healthcare system. And this is a vision reached through harmony, mentorship and interdisciplinary interactions. It is a vision we all have and a vision that many of us have faith in. Faith is different than belief. Osho reminds us that faith means trusting life, trusting the process, trusting the community — trusting it so absolutely that one is ready to go with it, anywhere, like Dr. Paul Slosar has done with his community. And his faith that the most complicated and unusual surgical cases ever seen before are mastered through support, advice, and continual development with the Spine Community. In short, it’s a faith in community and a faith in collaboration that makes a difference in patient care.
This faith is reminiscent of Pauline Chen’s recent article contemplating whether bedside manner can be taught or not. Arguments that it can’t be taught include, “you can’t learn ethics and compassion. You either have it or you don’t.” Fortunately, the article endorsed the faith that bedside manner can indeed be taught. The disruption: a teacher or model who does it differently from the way it was learned. 
We must not get lost in the numbers. Instead, we must get lost with each other and together because there are patients in your own clinic, your own state, as well as time zones away who cultivate your compassion, responsibility and innovation for better care that is achieved with others. So, why do you belong to such communities?
Thank you to immolation scene and Thom Erickson for your rock formations!
Carey Candrian
Tags: collaboration, collaboration in, collaborative communities, collaborative learning communities, communcation skills, communication, doctors, healthcare experience, innovative communities, innovators, Ken Cohn, learning communities, medical doctors, medical surgical cases, mentorship, mentorship program, online physician communities, patient care, Paul Slosar, Pauline Chen, physician communities, Physician satisfaction, Sanjeev Shukla, spine community, spineconnect, surgical cases, surgical communities
