Don't Just Take A Walk.

I was among thirty students to enroll in the first leadership class offered at the high school I attended. Our major projects was to clean and decorate a new classroom that would become the permanent leadership oasis for years to come. One specific task given to us was to find a quote to write on the wall. We selected, “He who is leading but has no one following, is only taking a walk.” It is a quote that always rings in my head every time I hear the word, leadership. As we begin to look at leadership communication, I think this quote is still very relevant.

It was said in class on Tuesday that doctors are the captain-of-the-ship. But doctors cannot give patients total care. A doctor must have the following of nurses and support staff in order to offer proper treatment. In one article I read this week, it discussed doctors need to practice the trend of “team care”. It is a natural tendency for doctors to make decisions and treat patients independent of other physicians. In trauma situations though, multiple doctors are sometimes required to save a patient’s life. When doctors worked together in teams, they were often seen fumbling over each other. This can cause the patient discomfort and substandard care. Medical simulations were needed to help the doctors and nurses learn to work together as a team and communicate effectively. I found this interesting and it brought me back to the quote I learned years ago. Doctors must learn to lead with their team following. It is the very ones they are trying to help that will suffer if doctors decide to just take a walk.