Beyond Moral Injury and Burnout: Transformative Leadership and Practice in Healthcare with Wendy Dean MD.

"The intersection of medicine, business and courageous creativity is where I've spent most of my career"
Wendy Dean MD
    In S5 E9 I am delighted to introduce another "heavy hitter" in healthcare thought leadership and transformational practice, Wendy Dean MD, president and co-founder of Moral Injury of Healthcare. Dr Dean is an alum of Smith College and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She trained in surgery and psychiatry at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. After practicing for a decade, Wendy worked for the US Army, where she managed regenerative medicine research funding and guided strategy for a $70M investment in the emerging field of hand and face transplants. In that position, and as a senior executive at a large nonprofit in Washington, D.C., she worked closely with both the civilian and military medical communities, and many government agencies--BARDA, NIH, WHOSTP, NASA, DARPA--to develop novel strategies to restore form, function and appearance to ill and injured service members. She remains part of those communities as a board member and prize judge.
         In describing her mission she says,"My focus now is on finding innovative ways to make medicine better for both patients and physicians through my own non-profit and by helping new talent and new ventures realize their big ideas."     
         Farming, fencing, photography, and riding big, opinionated horses keeps me focused outside of work.
               In this conversation Wendy discusses the concept and definition of moral injury in medicine, how it is distinct but can co-exist with burnout, the implication of this for medical systems and organisations and the evolution of her own thinking and practice in this area since the publication of the OpEd she co-authored in 2018 "Clinicians aren't burning out they are suffering from moral injury". We discuss her book "If I Betray these Words" from idea to fruition and the challenges and opportunities of elevating clinical voices through story. The major part of this conversation is directed towards transformational leadership and practice in the modern day "business" of healthcare. Who is doing it well and what is working well? Wendy's commitment to mission and purpose and willingness to challenge her own and our collective thinking and practice permeates this entire episode. Thank you for energising me and for all the work that you do to move us forward towards a brighter future for healthcare.

Links/References/Reading/Listening:
https://wendydeanmd.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-dean-md/
https://www.fixmoralinjury.org/what-is-moral-injury
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/718606/if-i-betray-these-words-by-wendy-dean-and-simon-talbot/ 
https://www.statnews.com/2018/07/26/physicians-not-burning-out-they-are-suffering-moral-injury/
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/43cc/id1715895952

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Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.