How Values Drive Decision Making with Dr. Amber Deptola

Amber Deptola, MD is an Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Washington University in St. Louis and Director of the Explore Program for medical students, which fosters career exploration and scholarship in advocacy, education, innovation and research. She is also an Assistant Director of the Teaching Physician Pathway. Dr. Deptola completed her medical school from the University of Louisville School of Medicine and residency from Washington University. Her research interests include resident wellness, interprofessional education, and the science of education and learning. It's time to get definitive about our core values. We’re on an ever-evolving journey, and our values will be our lighthouse in times of need. Today, Dr. Amber Deptola explains that we must take time to self-reflect, find moments of clarity and discover our values. Knowing our values will help us define our priorities, and our priorities will help drive our decision-making. Using our values to guide our decisions will typically lead us down the right path, and help us say yes when we should say yes, and no when we need to say no. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. Be definitive about your core values, even though we’re in an evolving journey. Self-reflect to get to a level of clarity, because your value will drive your priorities, and your priorities drive your decisions. 2. When we’re facing despair, or experiencing burnout, use a mantra: Listen and connect. 3. Find and build a crew of mentors; a team. Remember that for mentors, it’s often the best part of their day to be able to guide you in the right direction, to hear about your career aspirations. 4. Selfless doesn’t mean there is no credit involved. When we work as a team to achieve a goal, we’ll all get credit and the reward will be much greater.