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Direc Talk MUSINGS FROM THE IOTH FLOOR
Renowned for its acoustics, whispers were clearly audible within the walls of the Terry Concert Hall at Jacksonville University in Florida. The venue seats 400, divided among a concourse and balcony, providing musicians an opportunity to display their talents in functional elegance. I took my seat along the isle, four or five rows from the wooden staircase leading to the stage. My heart skipped a beat as I was introduced as the commencement speaker for the School of Nursing graduation ceremony. As I ascended to the lectern, fidgeting family members, faculty, and graduates collectively gave me a look that conveyed, "Say your thing quickly so we can get on with our celebration." Ikigai.
Within 20 seconds I felt confident I had their attention. Cell phones dropped to people's laps, children uncharacteristically hushed, and faculty beamed with interest as I unapologetically harpooned evidence-based nursing, big data, cloud technology, telehealth, telemedicine, Fitbits, electronic health records, electronic medical records, and GIS. Our country possesses the best information technology in the world and our life expectancy is less than the residents of Slovenia, Malta, and Costa Rica. Mobile phone apps are not the answer.
The answer is that the greatest improvements in our collective health status might not lie in our technical acumen but rather in the compassion, empathy, and love we bring to our respective professional enterprises. I suggest to you as we enter 2021 that love is the key to healing...