Q: For group leaders, why is it important for you to continue seeing patients?
A: In my QI work, I have studied Lean thinking and methodology. Lean thinking teaches you that change and improvement do not come down from leadership, but rather develop up from front-line workers. Group leaders need to continue seeing patients to truly understand the processes and problems inherent in clinical work. Effective solutions must come from those actually doing the work, rather than from those managing the work from above.
Q: What does it mean to you to be elected a Fellow in Hospital Medicine?
A: It meant that I had committed fully to a career in hospital medicine. I use the FHM designation proudly in all my communications, as a signal to others of my commitment and dedication to hospital medicine. Someday, I hope to earn the designation of SFHM, as a validation and recognition of my contributions to the field of pediatric hospital medicine.
Q: When you aren’t working, what is important to you?
A: After family, it is important for me to maintain a healthy lifestyle and stay in shape. I am able to commute to Seattle Children’s Hospital by bicycle and I try to run two to three times a week. I squeeze in half-marathons and marathons, along with century [100 miles] and double-century bicycle rides each year.
Q: If you weren’t a doctor, what would you be doing right now?
A: I would love to be a stay-at-home father for my boys and also devote the time and energy into pursuing a career in trail running.
Q: What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
A: I recently read Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” as part of a management training course at Seattle Children’s Hospital. This easy-to-read, highly entertaining book clearly demonstrates the culture changes that need to occur for companies to move from good to great. As a field, hospital medicine, with its focus on QI work and patient safety, is now in the midst of trying to become “great.”
Q: How many Apple products (phones, iPods, tablets, iTunes, etc.) do you interface with in a given week?
A: As many as possible. My wife and I own two iPhones, two iPads, and a MacBook Air, which she thinks we share but, in actuality, is mine. We are hoping to purchase a Mac desktop, and then we will have fully given over to the dark side.
Richard Quinn is a freelance writer in New Jersey.