John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP (Dr. Shufeldt began a three-part discussion of the importance of procedural checklists in the September issue of JUCM. The first two installments are available at www.jucm.com). Billy was a cocky, disingenuous, trying-to-be aviator who had a hangar next to mine until he left in the middle of the night to avoid paying his overdue invoices. I like pretty much everybody, at least initially. Despite trying, I did not like …
Read MoreThe Checklist – Part 2
John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP (Dr. Shufeldt began a three-part discussion of the importance of procedural checklists in the September issue of JUCM. That column is available at www.jucm.com.) I went to Mardi Gras two years ago. One of the events I attended was called the MOMs Ball. MOMs is an acronym for Mystic Orphans and Misfits; it’s a party by invite only, and only those with costumes and ticket are admitted. I was …
Read MoreCleared for Takeoff
JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP I like checklists. I use them while treating patients, flying, cooking, and training. Despite the fact that I have a few thousand hours behind the controls of a variety of aircraft, I still use them every time I fly. Why then, if I believe I am a fairly competent pilot, do I need to rely on something as pedestrian as a checklist for things that I have done countless …
Read MoreTransitions
John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP I participated in my first triathlon in 18 years last weekend in a town named for a card game. Show Low sits at 6,412 feet at the base of the White Mountains in northern Arizona. Remember the first scene in Chariots of Fire, where a group of men are running barefoot, effortlessly through the crashing waves on a beautiful beach with the orchestra playing an inspiring melody in the …
Read MoreHarmony in the Urgent Care
John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP My kids might offer a dissenting opinion, but I think I am pretty hip. And, although I have no idea what these lyrics mean … I want your ugly I want your disease I want your everything As long as it’s free I want your love Love-love-love I want your love … I still have Lady Gaga on in my iTunes. In fact, I kind of like these lyrics; …
Read MoreToo Big to Fail—Urgent Care Lessons from Toyota
John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP In his book, How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In, Jim Collins discusses the five markers or stages of decline and how a company can identify these stages and reverse itself even after large-scale defeats along the way. (Or, as Bluto (John Belushi) said in Animal House, “Was it over when the Germans bombed Peral Harbor?”) Applying those stages to the rough patch of road …
Read MoreDeconstructing the Ten Commandments of Urgent Care Medicine
Since the holiday season was just upon us, I will take the opportunity to borrow heavily from the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille movie, The Ten Commandments. The movie portrays the life of Moses, from an infant floating down the Nile through his return to Egypt to lead the Hebrews across the Red Sea. For the next few paragraphs, think of me as the Moses of Urgent CareWorld, as I attempt to lead you to the …
Read MoreSo Here’s What I’ve Learned…
John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP I am always amazed by the myriad of personalities encountered on any given day in the urgent care center or emergency room, at the office, or even when simply out and about. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to learn a few things from the thousands of patients I’ve treated and the remarkable individuals I’ve met along the way. How is it that some people with serious acute or …
Read MorePersistence
John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP I just returned from Boston, where the American College of Emergency Physicians held its national conference. While there, along with learning (and relearning) some emergency medicine, I had the change to walk along the Freedom Trail and enhance my understanding of our battle for independence. What continually amazes me is how fortunate we were to actually succeed. Many times the only thing which turned the tide and saved the …
Read MoreA Tale of Two Applicants
John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP It was March, and third-year residents all over the country were sending out applications for employment. It was, as Charles Dickens penned, the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the applicant’s spring of hope, most had everything before them’ James and Ashley were no exception. James, from a prestigious East Coast family practice residency, learned during his first …
Read More