The title of this editorial is a quote from Satchel Paige, professional baseball player and the first African American pitcher to play in the major leagues.
Satchel Paige is generally acknowledged at 60 years old plus to have been the oldest professional to play in US baseball's major leagues. In one interview with the press, he was asked why someone his age was still trying to compete. The quote cited above was his response.
What exactly was the point that Satchel Paige was trying to make when he said “Don't look back”? In my opinion, he was saying “Look ahead, live today for everything it is worth, and don't wallow in regrets about things now passed which cannot be reversed.” I think about this quote nowadays more and more often. The current economic depression has forced many academic and private group practices to make a number of painful decisions, including cancellation of funds for travel to professional meetings, hiring freezes, salary reductions, unpaid furloughs, and even some layoffs. Yes, these can be difficult times for many doctors and their patients, as well as for the populations of the United States and the world.
Given the current state of affairs on our planet, it would be easy to slide into a depressed state. In fact, at the recent annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in March of this year, a number of my friends and colleagues seemed to be quite out of spirits. Satchel Paige's comment has definitely helped keep me focused and balanced in my approach to the everyday. Please don't think that I am arguing for a superficial Pollyanna approach to life. I am well aware of the hard times we are experiencing. Nevertheless, there is much in our daily work and personal lives that should sustain us through this difficult period, as well as others that we might encounter.
Indeed, my time spent at work is not much different compared with earlier times when the world economy was strong. The patients I see in the hospital and my outpatient clinic require the same attention as they did before the financial fallout occurred. Moreover, my teaching, administrative, and academic activities also have not been much affected. My colleagues and I are as busy as we have ever been dealing with our 3-part (or perhaps I should say 4-part) mission.
I am reminded of a time in the early 1980s when I served as Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. Our dean had just announced that he would be leaving, the state's economy was doing badly, and there were planned budget cuts for the medical school. When I complained about what was happening to us during a meeting with my chief of medicine, James E. Dalen, he said something that has helped me in the current situation: “Medical school administrations come and go, but our mission here in the department of medicine never changes.” I took this message to heart that day and have repeated it to myself and to my colleagues on many recent occasions since then.
In fact, our mission has not changed. The number of patients who need our skills is increasing rather than declining. Today's medical students, residents, and fellows are as focused and industrious as ever in their quest to become outstanding physicians. And finally, the world of biomedical science has never been so exciting and so promising with respect to our ability to understand, diagnose, and treat illnesses. Our mission to offer comfort and relief to our patients is unaltered. Despite the many challenges that face us, I remain confident that our system of medical education and healthcare will continue to flourish. Advances in our knowledge and clinical abilities also will continue to occur. Of course, there will be difficult days ahead just as there have been difficult days in the past. It is likely that we will be practicing in a new healthcare environment in the near future. Even so, our mission will not change. I hope that the readers of The American Journal of Medicine will join me in a dedicated attempt to look forward and not back and to remember the words of Satchel Paige, because something might be gaining on us, and it is the future.
As always, I'd be interested in hearing your comments on this important topic. Feel free to post a comment on our blog, http://amjmed.blogspot.com.
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