For visitors, Dr. Moreland seamlessly addresses his hearing impairment and makes sure that everyone on the team is following the discussion. Luci K. Leykum, MD, MBA, MSc, hospital medicine division chief and associate dean for clinical affairs at UTHSCSA, says that Dr. Moreland has brought “a lot of positive energy to the group—and in ways I would not have expected.” She praised his talents as both a clinician and teacher.
John G. Rees, DBA, RN, patient care coordinator in the 5th Acute Care Unit, says that Dr. Moreland immediately “blended” with the staff on his service. “The rapport was perfect,” he adds.
Robert L. Talbert, PharmD, the SmithKline Centennial Professor of Pharmacy at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin, often participates in teaching rounds. Dr. Moreland, he says, “has an excellent fund of knowledge; he’s very rational and evidence-based in decisions he makes. He’s exactly what a physician should be.”
Watching interpreters Agan and Richardson during group meetings, Dr. Leykum believes, has influenced their group dynamics. “On a subtle level, having Chris in the group has made us more aware of how we interact with each other.”
Nilam Soni, MD, FHM associate professor in the department of medicine and leader of ultrasound education, has noticed that he has become attuned to Dr. Moreland’s way of communicating and often does not need the interpreters to decipher the conversation between them. Working with Dr. Moreland has given Dr. Soni “a better understanding of how to communicate effectively with patients that have difficulty hearing.”
After working with Dr. Moreland at UC Davis, Dr. Kravitz observed that employing physicians with hearing impairment or other disabilities brings additional benefits to the institution. Dr. Moreland’s presence “probably raised the level of understanding of the entire internal medicine staff, because it demonstrated that a disability is what you make of it,” he says. “One recognizes how porous the barriers are, provided that people with disabilities are supported appropriately. In that way, Chris was inspiring, and may have changed the way some of us look at this specific disability that he had, but also other disabilities.”
A bigger picture, indeed.
Gretchen Henkel is a freelance writer in California.