My Reflections on Professionalism - Jeff Fritz, PhD

 From the 10/16/2020 newsletter

Professionalism Perspective

My Reflections on Professionalism

Jeff Fritz, PhD – Winner, 2019 MCW Professionalism Enrichment Award

When I think about professionalism, three topics come to mind: personalities, people, and practices.

Professionalism and Personalities

If you could talk to anyone from the past who would it be? Each time I find myself posed with this question a long list of people come to mind. When pressed by those around me to select just one person, I usually find myself selecting someone that could guide me in my personal challenges that I’m facing in that moment.

In the area of professionalism that person would be Sir William Osler. Dr. Osler was on the forefront in many areas of medical education. Before there was a Flexner Report, he encouraged integration of foundational scientific knowledge with clinical practice (Osler is one of the founders of medical student learning knowledge and practice skills by the patient’s bedside); he encouraged nurses and physicians to be trained together (an early forerunner of Inter-Professional Education or IPE); he was a vocal advocate for the advancement of women in medicine; and he was passionate about physicians embracing their role to ease human suffering with a concept he termed Aequanimitas1. Unfortunately, I think this concept can be easily misinterpreted to mean emotional disconnection, but as I read Sir William’s writings, he clearly encourages us to seek emotional engagement and connection with others in a fashion that best meets the needs of the situation. Equanimity, from Osler’s perspective, is the discerned application of emotion in the process of easing the suffering of those around us.

Professionalism and People

As we celebrate Professionalism Week at MCW and as I reflect upon professionalism, the first thing that comes to mind is gratitude for the variety and skills of the mentors and coaches who have invested in my development. Having a constellation of people to support my development and encourage me to do more than I imagined has been critical in my development as a person and a professional.

Many thanks to my past and current mentors, coaches, and peers who have had the courage to approach me with difficult growth fronts, support me through those transitions, and encourage me to move beyond my comfort zone. I thank all of you who had the courage to tell me when I had broccoli stuck between my teeth, or adjusted my color of tie before a speaking engagement.

Professionalism and Practices

I do not really spend much time each day thinking about being/acting professional or the long list of professional behaviors but, when I do think of the practice of professionalism, three words come to mind: discernment, compassion and equanimity.

As I progress through each day, I hope to approach each interaction as an opportunity to extend compassion. The challenge comes in the form of my two personal growth fronts: (1) Can I discern the proper application of compassion to the situation at hand? and (2) Given the emotions of the situation, Can I practice equanimity as I work through the process of discernment, thereby sharing the form of compassion dictated by the situation?

Compassion

Before I forget, let me share my understanding of compassion. Compassion sometimes means fighting for justice, sometimes it means standing down, sometimes it means something as simple as helping someone carry stuff from their car to the office. Compassion is not a weak term, but a varied term that aims to ease the burdens of those around us. In this crucible of discernment, equanimity, and compassion is the core of my practice of professionalism. The focus is sharing compassion (easing burdens and suffering), while trying to discern the proper, emotionally appropriate application to the situation (equanimity).

I do not feel by any stretch that I have arrived at some level of noteworthiness in my practice of professionalism. I simply acknowledge that I continue to try and to improve.

Again, my thanks to all who have been patient and encouraged my growth. If I have any encouragement to share regarding the practice of professionalism, it would be to encourage everyone to find a team of supportive people, to focus on extending compassion, and to develop discernment and equanimity in the light of situations that call on us to adapt and grow. To some extent professionalism is the daily practice of character traits, that in my case I’ve simplified to three domains – discernment, equanimity and compassion – which are supported and developed by my constellation of coaches.

Personally, it was humbling to receive the Professionalism Enrichment Award as I feel like I still have a long way to go to discerning the proper application of extending compassion to those around me. My final thought is a quote from Sir William Osler as he addressed a graduating class of health care professionals: “that we are here to add what we can to, not get what we can from, Life.”

1Olser W, Doctor and Nurse, No. II in: Aequanimitas and other Addresses June 4, 1891.

Jeff Fritz, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy at the MCW-Central Wisconsin campus. He is a member of the Curriculum, Faculty & Student Pillars of the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education.