JANNEN BELBECK 2021-03-16 22:09:35
We all need more time
I have a confession, but I know you probably have the same one: I’m a binge-watcher. I watch the entirety of a show before carrying on with starting something else. So whether it’s binging Netflix, Amazon Prime, or maybe some Disney+, I know everyone has had the “are you still watching XYZ?” screen pop up on hour four of a show. True crime is one of my favourite genres, but one genre I never expected to get into was a medical drama – and then I started watching New Amsterdam. I look away at the surgery scenes (blood is not for me) and no matter the episode, I’m left with my eyes welled with tears. I’ve even gotten angry and exclaimed that I hated the show and wouldn’t watch it again...until I did.
For those who haven’t watched, the main character we follow is the new Medical Director at fictional New Amsterdam Hospital. We follow his ups and downs in both life and work, but his main priority is always his patients. While he breaks multiple professional rules, healthcare laws and probably some hearts, with this being a show, there are certain liberties taken with how a hospital would realistically be run, but we can look past that, right?
A running theme to the show is the concept of time: How we don’t have enough of it, how it’s fleeting, how we don’t know when the last moment with a loved one is. How we must take care of the way we “spend” it away.
In one episode, the staff are asked to fill out a type of work satisfaction survey, and ultimately the takeaway was simply not enough time. Not enough sleep, not enough meals with family, not enough resources to effectively manage their teams or workload. I won’t spoil how he ends up solving these various issues with the staff at the hospital, but it did take a bit of out-of-the-box thinking and awareness.
Maybe because it’s the year anniversary of the pandemic, a point in many of our lives where we were forced to re-evaluate our time “spent.” So maybe this is your yearly reminder to take your time. And that doesn’t mean use it slowly, but use it wisely.
In your professional life, maybe taking time is a matter of enacting new protocols or installing a new computer or patient management system. This can blossom into enabling more personal time. Use it with yourself, use it with friends, use it with family.
JANNEN BELBECK, Editor
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