It's amazing to me how quickly time passes. It seems like just yesterday we planned for and enjoyed the Pope's visit to Philadelphia, Veterans Day and this weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving. We now set our sights on Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza and New Years! Yikes, 2015 is almost gone and 2016 is right around the corner. With all the hubbub around all of the holidays I think it's become increasingly crucial to focus on what's really important and not just all the trappings of this time of the year. With time passing so quickly, I absolutely believe we need to make the effort to focus on the reasons many of us have made the decision to become healthcare providers and educators. Corporate America would have us all believe the most important thing to do this time of the year is to shop 'till we drop or our fingers get tired of surfing the net. I disagree. While difficult at times, it's extremely important to direct our attention and energy towards family, friends and those patients and clients we care for on a daily basis. As I've alluded to earlier, time flies by much too quickly to take any of these relationships for granted. Before you know it, family members and friends are gone off to school, jobs, etc. and our patients and clients can fall through the cracks.
I think this is a good time of the year to reaffirm our commitment to those closest to us. Do something special for those around you - tell them how much they mean to you. Review your office or teaching procedures to ensure you're providing/teaching the most up-to-date information, update your databases with current addresses and phone numbers and most importantly, take a few extra minutes with each patient, client or others to let them know how much you really care about them. In today's busy world we seem to have forgotten about the human touch necessary to convey our feelings and thoughts. To save time, we default to texting, focusing on the electronic health record entry while in the office or email. We're forgetting how to really communicate. As time passes we will have nothing concrete to look back upon other than a record of our texts, emails and EHR entries. So, what I am saying is let's commit ourselves to a renewal in communication and caring for those around us. Life is too short to let all those wonderful relationships we have the opportunity to be part of slip through time oh too quickly. It will take some work, but the outcome will be well worth the effort in the long run!
Wishing everyone a reflective holiday season.
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