Behind the Curtain
Victor O. Kolade, MD (AIAMC Roles: Member of Board of Directors & Programming
Committee)
Years
ago, I thought reading books written by presidential candidates would give me a
good window into who they were and help me decide if I wanted to support them;
I was however unable to do so.
More
recently, I found out that a former mentor, boss and GME leader had written a
book – and jumped at the opportunity to read and review it. The book’s website
presented it as a treatise on physician burnout; I did not realize that Resilient Threads: Weaving Joy and Meaning
into Well-being was Dr. Panda’s memoir until I
had committed to review 1 it for the journal Family
Medicine. Did I perceive a conflict of
interest? Almost – but I am not mentioned in the book and no longer work with
Dr. Panda. Nonetheless, I recognized several actors in the story – the author’s
children included. (Full disclosure – I met Dr. Panda’s son Nik the day I
interviewed for the position I eventually accepted; apparently, he put in a
good word with his mother on my behalf.) I also worked directly with the two
chaplains that Dr. Panda brought on staff to support inpatient and outpatient
care through a grant 2.
What else did I notice reading
the book? I had joined the author’s team when it seemed like her
career was in launch mode – she had recently received an ACGME
Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award, and was interim, soon to
become substantive chair of the Department of Medicine. But the narrative in
the book indicates she was in re-launch mode, having recovered from a
season of despair through renewal at the retreat the ACGME sponsors upon conferral
of the award.
Does
the book address burnout? Yes. Dr. Panda talks about the weekly Relaxing,
Rejuvenating, Rejoicing in Residency sessions (p. 117) that engendered positive
coping skills in residents who attended at least three per quarter; I remember
that these held on Thursday afternoons, and that sessions were also open to
faculty.
What
is actionable from this book? It has celebration as an
underlying theme. Celebrate the things that are going well around you - family
joys, trainee and colleague successes, grateful patients. Finding the good is a
feature of resilience.
AIAMC
members will be glad to note that Resilient Threads has mini reviews in
its opening pages from past AIAMC plenary speakers including Dr. Vineet Arora
of the University of Chicago and Dr. Don Berwick, IHI President Emeritus. I can
hear Dr. Berwick’s written review in his own voice - ‘We need a holistic
approach to individual courage and institutional change, and Dr. Mukta Panda
shows us how it can be done.’ In Dr. Panda’s spirit I am celebrating that
this phenomenal woman is my mentor and friend.
References
Kolade
VO. Resilient Threads: Weaving Joy and Meaning into Well-being. Family Medicine
2022; 54(2):153-4. https://journals.stfm.org/familymedicine/2022/february/br-feb22-kolade/
Cunningham
CJL, Panda M, Lambert J, Daniel G, DeMars K. Perceptions of Chaplains' Value
and Impact Within Hospital Care Teams. J Relig Health.
2017;56(4):1231-1247. doi:10.1007/s10943-017-0418-9
Dr. Kolade is Interim
Co-Chief for Quality, Wellness & Research, Sayre Internal Medicine, The
Guthrie Clinic, and Clinical Professor of Medicine & Regional Clerkship
Director for Internal Medicine, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.
Ready to do a book review of your own? If you recently read/reviewed a book, please contact us so that we
can consider including your narrative on our blog!! kimberly@aiamc.org