Monsters of Rock – Monsters of Education

I confess to being a fan of the classic heavy metal rock genre, and so this past Wednesday (March 28) was a thrilling night for me. A guitarist by the name of Tony Iommi played the Ottawa Civic Center with the current line-up of the famous metal group Black Sabbath.
Iommi crafted a guitar sound in the late 60’s that remains so distinctive and powerful that he has been cited as an influence to a legion of rock guitarists. The band Black Sabbath is commonly referred to as a “Monster of Rock”.
The monster metaphor has found its way into hockey thanks to a well known NHL analyst and former coach Pierre McGuire. Late in his TSN broadcast McGuire selects his “Monster player of the game”, a player whose performance is so powerful it affects the flow of the game and the success of his team.

Distinction and influence; these are the traits common in any practice that is deemed excellent, or in this case monstrous. When I’m in the presence of someone like Tony Iommi, or CEO-author Jack Welch, or comedian Bill Cosby, I find myself inspired to develop toward building distinction and influence in education and telehealth.

We have numerous “Monsters of Education” stories, past and present at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. For example, Gail Robinson and her team at the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital who pioneered the concept of community treatment teams – that was a monster. The team from the Substance Use and Concurrent Disorders (known as Addictions Program at the time) who pioneered Early Intervention in the school setting. That was a monster. We could go on for pages with other examples of accomplishments that have shaped the Mental Health service playing field.
The world is full of masters and monsters of their craft. After enjoying yourself in their presence, ask yourself “how do they distinguish themselves and their work from everyone else in their field?” That could unlock some wonderful creative potential in your professional craft.

Beware of "Sign Now-Pay Later" in Telehealth Partnerships

I’ve never met a person who would argue Steven Covey’s Habit #4 in his popular series The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s titled “Win-Win, or No Deal”. It states that achievements are largely dependent on co-operative efforts with others. He says that win-win is based on the assumption that there is plenty for everyone, and that success follows a co-operative approach more naturally than the confrontation of win-or-lose. During my 11 years of involvement in Telehealth, which includes numerous partnership agreements, I’ve observed too often how these agreements resemble “Win-lose”, and that’s why I’m urging Sr. Management to model a win-win approach as we negotiate a renewed partnership with the newly amalgamated Ontario Telemedicine Network.

The losers are usually those on the Telehealth front line. “Nobody told me about this.” “I didn’t have any choice in the matter.” These are familiar comments from Telehealth workers across Canada who gather yearly to create a learning community for this wonderful innovation in healthcare and health education.

There’s lack of recognition and reward; work processes are built reactively, often in the wake of errors or frustration; and this often drains the telehealth front line of their passion and commitment before a service is even established. I’ve heard the resentment that Telehealth workers quietly express toward their senior managers because they purchase the telehealth carriage before considering the work horses.

Partnership agreements among provincial and federal groups and individual organizations are absolutely necessary for an efficient and effective Telehealth service. What often happens is that Sr. representatives shake hands and sign agreements and move on to the next administration priority.

The Royal Ottawa Health Care was the first hospital in Canada to be scrutinized against national best-practice standards for Telehealth by the CCHSA. We’re proud that surveyors reported how well we delivered on most of the standards – but the Telehealth people-factor was identified as an area of weakness.
To sign to latest collaborative agreement before fixing these “very fixable” problems would be ignoring the whole point of Accreditation, and would only be repeating an historical telehealth problem that is prevalent across Canada.
I’m proud to say that our Senior Management team understands this – and that’s how a Learning Organization is supposed to work.

Movie Magic at Symposium 2007

A mental health symposium held in a motion picture theatre; at a glance it seems like a bizarre venue for such an event.

Logistically it is proving to be very unorthodox, but we can't let the frustration of planning and organizing the event prevail upon our vision for Symposium 2007. As I reflected on this upcoming event while relaxing during the March break there was an irony that I find absolutely beautiful.

When we resume our lives at the end of a working day, we may find ourselves visiting the Cineplex Odeon or any other movie venue in the region prepared to totally suspend our judgements and beliefs. We hand over our imaginations to the Hollywood industry. We open our minds to infinite possibilities the moment we enter the theatre.

Is this also the case when we enter the Associates-in-Psychiatry Auditorium or any other health care learning venue during a clinical working day?

It appears that in this context our staff enter the learning venue with their beliefs, values, and expectations very pre-determined. They want evidence. They want data. They map what they see and hear to their own clinical reality.

Which context do we hope for with this first annual Symposium on Mental Health research and care?

I’m hoping our guests enter the Cineplex Odeon with the same desire to hope and dream as they would if they were watching “A Beautiful Mind”, “Awakenings”, or any other movie where Mental Illness is the villain, and we all represent the good guys fighting to prevail against all odds.

This Symposium is about bringing people together in the fight against mental illness. Let’s take advantage of this venue-of-the-imagination to picture a happy ending for all the people we serve.

Pass the popcorn.