Jarrod Shapiro, DPM Practice Perfect Editor Assistant Professor, Dept. of Podiatric Medicine, Surgery & Biomechanics College of Podiatric Medicine Western University of Health Sciences, St, Pomona, CA

Cultivate Change to
Stay on Your Toes

The one constant in life is change. How do you deal with change? Do you embrace new situations or fear them?

During school and residency, the one thing we could rely on was that nothing would stay the same. While talking to my podiatric medical students at the University, currently completing their second year and about to start clinical training, I try to explain to them that their situation will be constantly changing. For those in practice, remember back to when you were training, when you spent a brief month on a particular service. For me, rotating from one service to the next was mentally and emotionally challenging, since once I got used to the daily mechanisms of a particular service, it was time to start a new one. I never felt that I had my feet under me — I never had a sense of stability. Being on a podiatric medicine rotation was like coming home to a familiar friend. I knew the responsibilities and had a strong grasp of the mechanics with a decreased chance to make ignorant mistakes — although I still managed to make my share of those.

	Tonight's Premier Lecture is Vacuum Assisted Closure in Optimizing the Wound by Lawrence Lavery, DPM, MPH

Once I started practice, I found a comfortable routine, with the daily schedule of hospital rounds, office patients, charts, and surgery. Unfortunately, over time I found this comfortable routine to become somewhat stifling. I discovered that all the change I went through during training had left me with a new appreciation for change. Had I become a change junkie ?  When I started teaching at Western University, I realized a significant part of my job satisfaction arose from the high level of change and variety involved with an academic institution. I no longer have a “regular” schedule. For example, my week consists of teaching (sometimes small group discussions, sometimes large group lectures), clinics (at full capacity, I’ll be responsible for clinics at two county hospitals and a private clinic), surgery, a variety of meetings, writing, and research, among others. Many times I’m asked to participate in activities that tax my current level of experience. The old me would have been very uncomfortable with this level of variety.  The new me is embracing it.

High levels of change are not for everyone. Some gain comfort and equilibrium from routine. However, I would urge those of you who feel this way to consider embracing change. Search for change. Look for new opportunities to push yourself. For example, if you’re not involved with a residency program or podiatric medical school, then get involved. There’s nothing better to unbalance your equilibrium than to let a resident do surgery on your patients! Get involved in your local podiatry society. Try writing a research paper or collaborating with another physician to answer that clinical question you’ve been wondering about for the past several years.

Stir the pot. Raise your heart rate. Realize that no matter how regimented and comfortable your life is, there’s always the potential to add the excitement of the unknown.

Keep writing in with your thoughts and comments. Better yet, post them in our eTalk forum.

Best wishes.

Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
PRESENT Practice Perfect Editor
[email protected]

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