Difficult Conversations Podcast

Lessons I Learned as an ICU Physician

Episode 178 | October 10, 2022

Healthcare and Fatherhood

Jeff Atwood

Author, Speaker and Healthcare Leader

JeffAtwood400

Welcome to Difficult Conversations with Dr. Anthony Orsini. Today, I have a wonderful guest who’s been doing great things in the healthcare field and has some wonderful stories to share. My guest today is Jeff Atwood. Jeff is a healthcare leader, author, and speaker who has more than twenty-five years of healthcare leadership, marketing, and storytelling experience. He consults with healthcare and community groups nationally, sharing insights and encouragement found at the crossroads during his two decades serving healthcare organizations, while raising a daughter with significant and developmental challenges. Jeff’s books have been published by Simon & Schuster, Random House, and Harvest House, and today we’ll be talking about his latest book, Need to Know for Graduates: Little Things That Make a Big Difference, which was released earlier this year.

Jeff shares his journey and how he entered a career in healthcare by accident. He tells us about his daughter who has had a seizure disorder her entire life, and how he and his wife had the opportunity to touch almost every part of the healthcare system as parents. We hear about the Gratitude Symposium and Jeff shares a sweet story, as well as his thoughts about how the healthcare community is wired with gratitude. Dr. Orsini shares his insights on the importance of teamwork when it comes to providing care to human beings, and we hear some great stories of the true kindness of people in healthcare We hear some great advice about how we can bring even more beauty and humanity out in medicine, and why acknowledging people when they do good things is so important. Dr. Orsini tells us his “sticker story” and why such a simple thing seems to bring so much excitement to people. He tells a tender story about a housekeeper in the Neonatal ICU. Jeff’s discusses his most recent book, Need to Know for Graduates: Little Things That Make a Big Difference, and his idea behind the book that shares advice and things he thinks are important for parents to tell their kids. He explains how as a parent you really need to be intentional with what’s important and how you say it.

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