Can a doctor be a hero? Definitely.
What about a nurse? Absolutely!
But, let’s not forget everyone else who may perform heroic actions or in fact be heroes. The cleaning staff and the food workers are vitally important. They face dangers as well. If not for them, our hospitals and long-term care facilities would be unfit for habitation. Everyone providing the behind-the-scenes services deserves the admiration and respect given to front-line responders.
Pedestals set People up for Falls
Our society loves to identify people or actions and elevate them to hero status. We lift it up for a short time before moving on to the next event or person to inspire us—yesterday’s heroes all but forgotten. Often, we cycle through heroes quickly, seemingly always in search of the next inspiring act. Sometimes a crisis passes, or a hero lets us down, and again we are already looking for the next moment of inspiration. Maybe this is because bad news gets more press. Maybe it is because we forget that heroes live within all of us and the core of heroism is selflessness. We need to step back and appreciate that we are all interconnected, and at some level, we rely on everyone around us.
Many have called health care workers heroes in recent days. There are definitely heroes in medicine, just as in many other occupations from truckers and warehouse workers to firefighters and police officers—and there always have been. We absolutely need to recognize those who help serve our communities, but not just during times of crisis. We need to foster our respect and express it with regularity. It is not about putting an individual who serves our communities on a pedestal in the short term but growing our respect, which will be mutually beneficial and improve our communities for the long term.
In our opinion, we don’t need hero worship. Simple respect, which has long been eroding, is far more important. Mutual respect helps build the physician-patient relationship. Improving this relationship usually leads to better outcomes. It certainly creates a more pleasant journey.
Sharing Respect for Each Other
Almost everyone in medicine is aware that simple respect and pleasantries have diminished over the years. In an age of social distancing, we must find new ways to show our emotions. It is a great time to work on extending gratitude and respect to those around us. Admiration and respect are one thing. Building people into something they are not is fraught with danger.
Heroic actions do not make superheroes. Heroic actions do not make a person infallible. Each of us needs to keep this in mind. Being placed on a pedestal simply sets us up for a fall. Better to accept simple respect or gratitude and then continue with your chosen job.
Let’s think about ways to show respect:
- Simple yet sincere thanks, not forced or obligatory praise.
- Expressions of appreciation that are discrete and unexpected are the best. Try to express appreciation to a couple of people today who may not be expecting it.
- Involve the workers in the field in solving their problems.
It is imperative that we involve the front lines—the doctors, nurses, technologists, and other health care workers—in the solutions for the future of medicine or any other field that needs change, or even an overhaul. Changes to health care, without the guidance of those of us delivering the care, instituted by bureaucratic agencies, governmental or institutional, are not likely to achieve meaningful positive change. It is not enough to have someone with experience providing patient care involved; people who are doing the work now need to have a say too.
Having a Voice
Being given a voice in the changes implemented conveys significant respect.
The beauty of respect is that it is a two-way street that improves the quality of both parties involved. We need to cut each other some slack and open our eyes to what others do for us. Instead of hero-worshiping in the short term, we need to boost our respect for one another in the long term. This will improve our working and living environments. In the medical arena, specifically, this will boost our relationship with our health care providers and improve our individual and community health.
Right now, the pandemic is known. In the past, we all went to work in the unknown. Which is more heroic?
After 9/11, First responders were lauded as heroes. We should keep in mind that they show courage and heroism on a virtually daily basis. We believe much more important than talking about people like they are heroes would be to show simple respect and admiration for a job well done.
Health care workers will also be the ones to institute, refine, and customize any improvements in health care we as a society try to make. The present crisis is exposing some of the many deficiencies in our system and the need to fix it. Let’s make sure it also exposes the importance of involving the front-line stakeholders in those solutions.
Aretha Franklin said (or sang) it best – R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
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Pedestals Are For Statues Shared Respect Builds Relationships | SBGM