HJAR Mar/Apr 2021

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  MAR / APR 2021 11 appointments, thus unclogging our often- crowded waiting room and providing the necessary space for social distancing for everyone’s protection. Our clinic then went on a messaging campaign directly to our patients, including phone calls, notices on our website and social media posts as well as communication to our referring physicians on our protocols. Our physician President, Tim Langford, MD, and I shot a video about our efforts to alleviate fears for our patients. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was sending out communications prior to March 11, and we were certainly monitoring those recommendations along with the guidance of the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). Like many did at the time, I felt this was an unprecedented event, and we were all doing the best we could to manage a rapidly evolving crisis. As our patient volume decreased, some mandated by the ADH and some by our choice to space out visits and provide for social distancing, I took that time to send a lengthy email to our physicians. There is already a shortage of urologists in this state, and the demand for our services is high. I have often shared with our staff that many patients either wait to see us or sometimes even wait when they come to see us. Like many other physician clinics, our phone call volume overwhelms our call center; the number of emergent problems does not subside, and the aging population makes it difficult to take care of the vast amount of people who need our services. This crisis was also an opportunity to implore our physicians to slow down, take time to catch up on medical journals, exercise or even spend more time with their families. According to the Medscape National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report 2019, the overall physician burnout rate is 44% with urologists having the highest rate at 54%. As mentioned previously, the high demand, low supply of urologists and the pace of work takes its toll on many physicians. I was pleased to see that many of the physicians at our practice took advantage of the COVID slowdown to do some home projects, catch up on journals and plan for a time when the pandemic might subside. Strangely, I had just picked up a book from one of my favorite authors, Pulitzer Prize winner Doris Kearns Goodwin. I enjoy biographical stories ofAmerican history, and Doris Kearns Goodwin has written a series of books about our nation’s presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt. I was reading her latest book entitled “Leadership in Turbulent Times.” The book focuses on four American presidents who faced crises during their respective administrations, ranging from the Civil War to the Great Depression and the struggle for Civil Rights. Reading this book gave me insights on how those leaders faced their own sets of challenges with the common denominator being listening to other opinions, relying on expert advice and ultimately overcoming those challenges through a variety of leadership styles. There is an often-cited expression of the late football coach Vince Lombardi that leaders are born, not made. Many leadership scholars will disagree with “During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, I took the time to meet with select teams and managers of our departments to explain how I wanted additional attention to detail on not just what we communicate to our patients, but how we communicate.” – E. SCOT DAVIS, CMPE