The Art of Progress

“The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and

to preserve change amid order.”

 

Alfred North Whitehead, British mathematician and philosopher, 1861-1947

 

As you are all aware, Ricky will be leaving Duke Dermatology to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity with Rex Healthcare. Ricky has been an outstanding member of our Dermatology family and has made significant contributions to every aspect of our operation. I know that all of us really hate to see Ricky leave. I especially feel a sense of loss with Ricky’s leaving. His can do personality, upbeat and positive demeanor and wonderful work ethic will be hard to replace.

 

As I was thinking about how we are going to manage this bump in the road, the quote of Lord Alfred Whitehead that lead off my remarks seemed especially appropriate. Change is the way we advance and improve. At the same time we want to preserve that which is valuable. We must maintain the ‘order’ of our uniform and unwavering commitment to the highest quality of patient care, research and education. At the same time however we must realize that if we are to make progress we need to make changes.

 

It is one of my great rewards to see how our entire Dermatology family is willing to embrace change. Over the last few months we have had many examples that illustrate our willingness to change in order to improve. The addition of Brooke Davis as our first Certified Medical Assistant in the clinic, the development of our new Dermatology Ambassadors program, the start-up of our new Laser Hair removal clinic and the addition of MoleMapping Photography to the clinic are just a few examples of how we are working to improve our Division through change.

 

These examples also illustrate how change involves all of us working together. Faculty, nursing staff, residents, front desk and administrative personal all have played major roles in getting these changes rolling. It has not been easy or without obstacles but I believe that despite the difficulties along the way things have improved as a result of everyone working together.

 

Change is not easy and it is not easy to figure out what to change. We don’t want to change what is already good but it is clear that if we are to improve we must change. Lord Whitehead clearly understood this; if we are to progress we must change but we must also preserve our core values. We must maintain the values of our uniform commitment to teaching, investigating and caring. We are all teachers; teachers of each other, of patients, of residents, of every individual we come in contact with. All of us participate in investigating whether it is by getting a clinical trial patient registered in a room, helping the basic scientist obtain needed clinical material, performing an experiment in the lab or conducting a trial on the latest therapy. Last and certainly not least we all care; care about our patients and care about each other. Listening to the frustrated patient or doctor trying to schedule an appointment, following up on that last phone message, making sure all the right lab tests are ordered are just a few of the ways we all show that we care. We are all working together to help each other in all of our individual goals because we care.

 

This is the core we cannot change. Teaching, investigating, caring

 

I am confident that as much as we will miss Ricky all that he has accomplished will provide a strong foundation for our next ‘Ricky’ to take us even further. I challenge us all to remember the words of Lord Whitehead and to continue to “preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order.”

 

Russ