Outcomes of spirituality. (A Reaction).

These lead articles speak very well to the concept of managing beyond the bottom line. While we all agree that business performance is critical, physician executives are only recently realizing the importance of the attitudes and creativity of the people working in the organization.

We are grieving over the loss of the traditional culture of care giving. David Whyte points out that The soul of medicine is on trial." We must restore the balance between the heart (and soul) and the business of medicine if we are to help physicians find their passion and the qualities that drew them to the profession. Integrating spirituality into the workplace allows physician executives to:

1. Create healing environments, foster adaptability and creativity, and give caregivers better involvement in their practice and connection to their patients. If the business of medicine continues to dominate the lives of caregivers, we will see further physician disenfranchisement and a greater emphasis on the material parts of health care. Physician executives (and physicians) must reconnect with their first calling, the heart and soul of medicine. At a time when physicians are too stressed and vulnerable to speak for themselves," physician executives must be the voice of medicine and need to promote the well being of caregivers.

2. Become key players in helping the organization to serve the community and its members. Kaiser and Delbecq point out that organizations reflect their spirituality in their mission and values and demonstrate it by making decisions based on those values. Physician executives in touch with their spiritual life will be better connected with the organization's purpose and will foster inclusive and creative decision-making and appropriate distribution of resources. Physician executives are in a unique role because they understand the caregiver and business culture. When it comes time to weigh the conflicting needs of the organization and the community, spiritually aware physician executives can discern caregivers' needs and wants and provide a voice of social responsibility to the executive team.

One final word.

It is tempting to shape our spirituality to fit the organization. While it is appropriate to change parts of our value systems after education and thought, we can't remain at peace in an organization that conflicts with our true self. Kaiser and Delbecq tell us that we cannot separate our work lives from our inner self. David Whyte explains that we cannot ignore those parts of our lives that bring us joy and fulfillment outside of our professional role, but need to integrate them. The spiritual physician executive will be compelled to either work to change an organization that doesn't fit--or leave it. Otherwise, a dissonance occurs that takes an enormous amount of energy to ignore and leaves the physician executive empty and tired.

How are you feeling today?

Barbara LeTourneau, MD, MBA, CPE, FACPE, is President of LeTourneau and Associates in St. Paul, Minnesota. She can be reached by calling 612/840-0203 or via email at [e-mail].