What is your defining moment this year?

The defining moment for my life’s work came in the first year of my fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at UCLA, 25 years ago. I was meeting with a dad whose son had experienced a psychotic break. I explained neurotransmitters, dopamine and all the other knowledge I had gained on what would happen with his son. When I paused, this frightened dad asked me, “Am I going to have to build a room out back?” I was a new dad at the time with an infant daughter, and sleep-deprived, and I started crying. It hit me that the trajectory of this family’s life had changed dramatically with this diagnosis. From that point forward, I decided I would always talk to patients in a way they can understand and deliver compassionate, not just competent, care.

In November, the who’s who in healthcare came to central Pennsylvania for Geisinger’s national symposium on revitalizing America’s healthcare system. Our goal was to bring together a diverse group of experts with unique perspectives, and we succeeded far beyond our expectations. Our speakers included top visionaries in health policy, economics, technology, prevention, quality and patient experience. 

After each leader presented, we sat down with them and began each conversation with the same question: “What was the defining moment of your career in healthcare?” The answers varied, but a couple unifying themes emerged. Every speaker noted that the chance to help others and improve lives was the baseline motivation for the satisfaction they find in their work. 

I also heard a second theme as these change-makers shared their stories. Like my experience, they could all recall the moment they realized they were going to do things differently and committed to help transform the “system” to be better. 

Our keynote speaker was Hillary Clinton. She shared a conversation from early in her career with a father of two girls with cystic fibrosis. He was denied health insurance that would cover his daughters, and was told “we don’t insure burning buildings.” That encounter inspired her as first lady to champion the Children’s Health Insurance Program.  

Dean Ornish, MD, considered the pioneer of preventive medicine, told us his life was turned around when he found relief from a deep depression through yoga when he was in college. That experience set him on a path that has revolutionized the use and acceptance of lifestyle changes to create healing and wellness.

Thomas Lee, Jr, MD, one of the foremost leaders in defining and measuring quality of care, told us his defining moment actually came in his 50’s when he had an epiphany that healthcare is about meeting the needs of the patient, which is fundamentally different than “doing a good job as a doctor” and involves reinventing our institutions and processes around the patient, not the provider.   

Gail Wilenksy, PhD, talked about how healthcare was what attracted her to economics, knowing that her work can make a difference in making the right policy decisions to help people, both in her government roles and in leading a global health nonprofit. 

Ezekiel Emanual, MD, PhD, a chief architect of the Affordable Care Act, recalled how as an emergency physician he treated a drug user according to the best clinical standards. After weeks of intensive treatment, the patient was considered cured and discharged. Two weeks later, the same patient was back in the ER from another overdose. Dr. Emanual realized even the best medical treatment was useless without dealing with the underlying problems, and he has devoted his work to health policy.   

My defining moment set me on a course that eventually brought me to Geisinger to lead a health organization that puts caring for the patient ahead of everything else. That means we’re willing to upset the status quo and try new things to fix healthcare so that it works better for everyone. 

It’s fascinating to hear dedicated healthcare leaders describe their defining moments. Those revelations inspire us to pursue solutions that improve healthcare and the lives of people. What’s your defining moment, and what’s happened since then? I’d like to hear your story.