The President's message is written personally by the President each month and all opinions expressed within are his/her individual opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Academy, its affiliates or its employees.
One of the privileges of family medicine is that we are invited into the ordinary moments of people’s lives. A routine blood pressure check. A medication follow-up. A brief phone call. A worried question. So often, the most important moments in healthcare do not announce themselves as extraordinary.
Recently, I cared for a complex patient who had been hospitalized several times over the preceding months. He presented to clinic for a routine blood pressure check after a medication adjustment the week before. He had no major complaint and was simply following my plan of care.
During routine vital signs, a medical assistant noted that his oxygen saturation was lower than his usual baseline. Not abnormal, but different for him. She became curious and asked questions. She learned he had some mild shortness of breath. She escalated her concern appropriately and the patient was ultimately triaged by a nurse and sent to the emergency department where he was diagnosed with a massive pulmonary embolism causing right heart strain. He underwent emergency thrombectomy and was recovering well in follow up again with me.
What stays with me is not simply the life-threatening diagnosis. It is the humanity and relationships within the ordinary.
An attentive medical assistant, fully present in an ordinary moment, noticed something subtle. She cared enough to ask another question. She had the courage to escalate concern. I have little doubt her actions saved this patient’s life.
Physician well-being and resiliency are often discussed in terms of workload, documentation burden, staffing shortages, and operational strain — all important realities. But for me, resiliency is also found in being present enough to witness ordinary people, in ordinary moments, do extraordinary things for their fellow human.
What if every patient-facing interaction in healthcare became an opportunity—not to create another barrier, but to remove one? What if every member of the healthcare team felt empowered to be deeply present for the vulnerable human in front of them? What if our systems were designed not merely to process patients efficiently, but to care for people skillfully and compassionately?
Family physicians understand something essential about healthcare: healing is rarely accomplished alone. It emerges from teams, attentiveness, trust, curiosity, and human connection.
In a fragmented and often exhausting healthcare environment, these moments matter. They remind us why we entered this profession in the first place.
Sometimes resiliency is not found in escaping the chaos. It is found being present and discovering the meaning within it.
The Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians sees you and is here to support you. Please to not hesitate to reach out if this message resonates with you. Or better yet, share it with a colleague and reconnect them to the Academy.
In gratitude,
Zach
