Blog From the Chair: Playing a Bad Lie

I wanted to discuss a recent ‘feel good story’ (Note to reader:  I like telling stories and I have been accused of being “too folksy”). I believe this story has a deeper message for regular people like me and hopefully will have meaning for you. The story involves making mistakes and even possibly living through embarrassing moments.  I don’t want to focus on medical errors in this post, as these ‘mistakes’ are estimated as the 6^th leading cause of death in the US, sadly almost 98,000 per year.  Reducing medical errors is an area of active work at the UNM Hospital involving staff, nurses, residents, and faculty who work tirelessly promoting patient safety and improving outcomes. This post looks more at mistakes or errors outside of the medical world, in our every day personal or professional lives, and how we handle them.  I'm not talking about trying to minimize errors, but there is a great quote from the famed UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden (who I met while covering the Final Four in 1998), who once said, “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.  I am positive that a doer makes mistakes.”

Orthopaedic surgeons are doers by anyone’s definition, and I have always believed it is what you do with a mistake, a disappointment, or even a bad bounce in life, that teaches and improves your situation.  I have learned from others that when a mistake is made it is very important to quickly acknowledge your role, and if it hurts another, quickly apologize for it, and do everything you can to make it right when possible. {Remember 3 rules of an apology: 1) a sincere apology, 2) ask forgiveness knowing those hurt aren't obligated to forgive, and 3) work to make things right}.  But once you have recognized your part in the mistake, it is important to learn from it.  I believe you should make appropriate changes and most importantly learn to “move on.”  It is healthy to acknowledge your part in a problem and learn from it. But, what I have done, and warn others against, is to continue reminding yourself of your failure or mistake.  You need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off (which involves forgiving yourself, kinda’ folksy eh?), and move on by quickly learning how to smile again.

Dr. Schenck and Son at Bandon Dunes

And this now comes to last week’s British Open (“The Open,” as we say across the pond).  If you didn’t know it, I am a fan of the pro golfer, Phil Mickelson. Although Phil makes his fair share of mistakes, I believe he is popular because he’s a lot like the everyday person.  He makes mistakes, has had some very difficult and embarrassing moments in golf, but ,in my opinion, he keeps things in perspective.  Consider a recent low round at the Scottish Open after which Phil was quoted as saying,  “Some of my greatest rounds started with a bogey,” meaning, Phil messed up at the start of some of his best days playing golf.  Tiger is Tiger and hugely popular, but Phil has his golfing ups and downs, and does his best to bounce back.  He recently won the British Open, a links style of golf that never suited Phil’s golf game.  This was his fifth ‘Major’ and came only one month after losing the US Open in Phildadelphia.  Many of you know this, but for those of you who don’t, Phil Mickelson has come in second place at the US Open a record six times. After the US open at the Marion Country Club there were many critics of Phil, and even more disappointed fans.  But, ever the gentleman, after his US Open loss in June Phil Mickelson stuck around the clubhouse signing autographs for fans and congratulating the winner, Justin Rose.

Dr. Veitch Playing a Bad Lie

In the world of the sports heroes Phil was a breath of fresh air as he went on to win “The Open.”  Think about it, he had just lost another major for the sixth time, but instead of focusing on the loss in June, he picked himself up, started preparing for links type golf, and actually won the Scottish and British Opens.  This was the first time in history both were won by the same person in the same year.  It was commented on by writers that Phil maintained his cool throughout those two wins this past July.  Phil Mickelson made some great shots this past Sunday at the British Open (approaches at 17th, 330 yard fairway wood, and 18th, a pitch to 12 feet birdying both holes), but he had some minor mistakes and some bad luck. It was on the par 3 sixteen at Muirfield where Phil hit a great iron shot to the green only to have it roll off 45 feet where he would have a difficult up and down for par.  Instead of cursing on the 16^th tee box, where ESPN microphones are everywhere, he was heard speaking to his caddie, “Wow, that’s as good as I got.”  The critics will say, “Phil knows he’s on stage so he watches what he says.”  But, in my opinion, that is you and me.  Think about when we walk into the pre-op area where there can be requests or changes to the schedule.  Instead of sulking because we can't find the consent or have to update an H & P, we must act professionally and simply re-consent the patient, or go back into Powerchart and get things ready, keeping the patient’s well being as our first priority.  And it is that attitude in the face of life’s disappointments, where the average Jane & Joe Orthopod must function with professionalism. 

In Orthopaedics we are held in great regard, but unlike the celebrities, it is expected that we maintain our cool during times of adversity, minor or major.  It is this “Phil-like” behavior of maintaining your cool, even if you feel like slamming your club or cursing, that I see on a daily basis in our staff, mid-levels, residents, and faculty.  We handle things with class even during adversity.  In life and medicine, we must learn to quickly pick ourselves up, learn from our mistakes and move on.  And realize that your mistake or loss, when handled properly, can quickly turn into a great success story, just like two recent weekends in Scotland.

Bob Schenck
P&C
UNM Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

16th Hole Bandon Dunes, Oregon Coast