TEDxToronto - Drew Dudley "Leading with Lollipops"

Today I attended the new employee orientation given at DDEAMC to prepare for my student shadowing hours at the PT clinic, under the umbrella of the Red Cross, given by the Hospital Commander, and this was one of the videos he played for us at the end. I'll be frank, I wasn't expecting much more from this orientation other than a powerpoint, some Q&A, you know, the usual. It did contain a power point, it did contain some Q&A (the audience was not very awake today) but more importantly, it contained this video, which was particularly touching, and interesting to see its' inclusion by the Commander of a large Army Hospital. It talked about a 'lollipop moment' where one person changed the life of another, without even knowing it, or even remembering it, and changed the course of her life.

I've had a tenuous relationship with DDEAMC over the last few years that I've been stationed at Fort Gordon (2013-2017), some (mostly good), some okay, and some not so great. I've filled out surveys, talked to the Patient Advocate on more than one occasion, and walked in and out of the doors in a variety of moods. Today was a different day though. Today I sat on the side of the employees of the hospital, new ones at that, with a Commander who just took the reins a month ago. Today, I was encouraged to see a Commander, a CSM and a leadership team who believed in taking care of patients first, making work an enjoyable place to be, instead of a place where morale goes to die, and where providers want to make patient care the focus instead of an afterthought because of all the paperwork, and more importantly, a Commander who knows that the best Football team is the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Long story short, I'm not a healthcare provider like so many of those in the room, but as a human being interacting with society, anyone can have a 'lollipop moment' with someone else, but the key is to tell that person who had that effect on you; not only have they changed your life, but knowing that they changed yours with just a simple act might bring light to their day. Seeing leadership from the top down that believes in this concept in such a large, government organization like the Army/MEDCOM, is not only refreshing, but encouraging to adults like myself who are starting a new healthcare career.