According to conventional wisdom: (1) the public health emergency has ended and we are emerging to the other side; (2) the world was turned inside out, leading to changes in healthcare that were unanticipated and seismic; (3) we will now “get back to normal” applying all we have learned.

If you're reading this, you may have a different perspective because you were on the inside before 2020, then were in the middle of it as an erstwhile healthcare hero, and are now on the backside of what may not feel so much like recovery. There's nothing theoretical about the challenges you've faced, and we all know the system tumbled into COVID already limping, held together by bubble gum and duct tape. It broke because it was already damaged and there was little to no resilience in the system.

As we look at “recovery” I think few of us want to return to what we knew before. Back to baseline is not inspiring to many of us. So, if crisis is opportunity, then what's our aspirational vision of a better future? What would we demand if we could of the places where we work and where we and our loved ones are cared for?

What if we genuinely partnered to accomplish all the things we've danced around for decades? Provision of truly high-quality care that leads to better outcomes for patients and our communities; reduction in wasteful activities that hurt patients, healthcare workers, clinicians, and the communities where we live and work; creation of mental space for physicians and other clinicians to apply mindful and undistracted attention to the complex problems of their patients; dedication to building healthcare workplaces where people thrive at work and choose to be there; development of the next generation of passionate caregivers in all corners of care delivery; healthcare systems that invest in their communities like their survival depended on it.

What I have always loved about IR is the disruption inherent in the specialty—the innovation and creativity that live in those who choose it as a profession. Much of what we do has disrupted so fully that it is now simply status quo, but the need to create and envision better ways still imbues the specialty. We yearn to fix what's broken and use the tools we have and the new ones we create to gently disrupt and repair. Now is the time for disruption and repair on a grand scale—to fix what's broken and align the damaged machine to track toward True North. If anyone can advance that agenda, it's us. We just need to pick up some new tools and get to work.

Article published online:
02 November 2023

© 2023. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA