My Fair Provider
In My Fair Lady, Henry Huggins sings a song called “Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man?” In it, he wonders out loud why women can’t behave more like those paragons of reason, virtue and good cheer: men. I often think of that song when I hear someone in medical leadership say: “Why can’t providers act more like leaders?”
Let me say, right from the beginning, that providers aren’t without fault. Their position grants them a certain amount of status and privilege, and they loathe to relinquish any of it. Under certain conditions, they aren’t above whining, or bullying, or manipulating the system to get what they want. In short, they’re human, like everyone else.
Still, over my thirty years as a physician, I’ve seen the job grow progressively more stressful and less enjoyable over time. Every year, we’ve been asked to see more patients in less time. We’ve lost control over our schedules, our patient panels and our staffing levels. The percentage of time we dedicate to clerical work and data entry has grown exponentially. And all along, our status and compensation have eroded. A colleague of mine recently expressed dismay that young physicians these days treat medicine as if it were factory work. Why wouldn’t they, I wondered, when increasingly we treat them like factory workers?
To force our providers onto an assembly line is to squander our most valuable resource. Without engaged, energetic, inspired providers, the care we provide will never be more than perfunctory and mediocre. They, and their patients, deserve better.
A healthcare organization needs provider leadership. That doesn’t mean they should run the show. It means they should have a seat at the table. They should have leaders they trust and systems that support them. They should have a meaningful voice.
I’ve heard it said that whining is just anger forced through a very small hole. If your only megaphone is a paper straw, what else can you do?
Why can’t a provider be more like a leader? They can, if you give them a way to lead.
