Journey to Inclusion in Orthopedics [Vol 2 - Empathy, Emotional Intelligence, & Healthcare Excellence ]

As organizations are changing the colors of our logos in support of the LGBTQIA+ community and in preparation to celebrate other June observances for marginalized groups such as Juneteenth, Immigrant Heritage, Caribbean American Heritage, it got me thinking...

Working toward inclusion in diverse organizations can often be experienced as polarizing and challenging.

For this reason, it is imperative that we utilize compassion and empathy in pursuit of health equity and the standard we hold ourselves to in providing better healthcare for all.

Let's begin...

Empathy, Emotional Intelligence, & Healthcare Excellence

In healthcare, empathic relationships are vital to achieving positive clinical results - whether the empathy is between physician and patient, or among members of the clinical team.

The foundation of mutual trust & respect is empathy, and teams that are able to secure empathy as their foundation are the teams that excel - whether that's a patient and their care team, or your organization as a whole.

However, treating everyone equitably takes effort, it takes acts of empathy and compassion, and is not something often accomplished overnight. Work towards equity and mastery of empathy requires Emotional Intelligence - the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.  In our field, we must have the ability to hold space for another person’s thoughts, condition, experiences, and feelings from their viewpoint, even if theirs differs from our own.

In light of recent events in American society, we must recommit to our work to fight against systemic racism, genderism, and sexism in our profession.  Every day, we must strive to be just, fair, unbiased, and inclusive professionals that are focused on better health for all.  A better work environment for all. A better healthcare experience for all.

To get there, steps must be put in action to do the work towards a more cross-culturally empathetic and compassionate workforce. All in the name of Making Lives Better.

Let's Discuss

Option to answer one (or all) of these prompts in the comments, or take this to your next leadership meeting to discuss internally.

1. How can attention to and trainings on emotional intelligence impact your leadership & organization positively?
2. What efforts are you putting into play to make these effort-ful steps more manageable for members of your organization to take action on?
3. Does your organization have a plan for discussion of these polarizing topics?