December is the month of many holidays: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, Omisoka. In my home, it is the month of many birthdays. We set up our “birthday” tree (which bears great similarity to a Christmas tree) and place gifts for my three children and husband under it over the month. Winter is also my favorite season because I savour cozy blankets, warm drinks, enthralling books, and soft candlelight—especially after coming in from the wet and dreary outdoors.
Similarly, six months into my presidency, when I unexpectedly encounter connection points between healthcare and leadership organizations, I am extra appreciative. These connections feel like pedways sheltering one from the cold. What is a pedway you might ask? Well, in harsher climates than ours, they are all over university campuses and city centres. To save you from the chilly outdoors, you instead travel via enclosed pedestrian bridges between buildings. Enabling and incentivizing easy congress between buildings is important when it is -30 degrees with the windchill. Similarly, our governmental and professional institutions all work within fortified silos (literally—have you noticed the level of security at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia’s offices?), and it sometimes feels nearly impossible to venture outside and connect to neighbouring colleagues.
Doctors of BC invited representatives from both BC Family Doctors and Consultant Specialists of BC to join their table at a recent board meeting. Not only did it widen the pedway between our organization and Doctors of BC, but it also created a novel one for us with Consultant Specialists of BC. Another pedway that we are fostering is amongst the digital strategy leadership silos. Artificial intelligence, large language models (AKA Chat GPT) have arrived, transforming our workflows to deliver better patient care, improved efficiency and enhanced work satisfaction (we hope!). A unified and collaboratively designed plan is essential to utilize these new tools ethically and optimally.
I want to build pedways between our various organizations with connections that will be built in and easy. The only way we create lasting change is to improve our systems—not only our patient systems but also our leadership ones.
These connective pedways will foster more cooperation and increase overall capacity. Our system needs a radical overhaul, and we need all the capability that we can muster. Regardless of the innovation happening around us, we are all still humans who need play, rest, and visits with family and friends. So, I wish you all a delightful December holiday season for whichever ones you choose to celebrate. I will see you in 2024 with even more pedways under construction.
