Navigating Complexity with Dr. Daniel Wolpaw

Daniel Wolpaw, MD, is a Professor of Medicine, a Senior Consultant for Educational Innovation,  and Co-Director of the Junior Faculty Development Program at Penn State. He has a number of publications in the areas of health systems science, the humanities including communication and doctor-patient relationship. His areas of interest include curriculum development, critical and systems thinking, adaptive expertise, professional identity formation, and the use of literature to encourage mindfulness and humanistic care. Patients are far more complex than the symptoms they have. As physicians, it is our role to connect with patients for who they are. To embrace their complexities. To embrace lack of certainty and lack of agreement. Today, Dr. Daniel Wolpaw reminds us that as physicians, we not only have to understand a vast amount of complex knowledge, but also work with complex personalities of our patients and our colleagues. When we start to critically think through our challenges, be open minded and humble, we can navigate this complexity. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. We must learn to navigate a lack of certainty and lack of agreement, which is why creative problem solving is an important skill as a physician. 2. Be willing to work through the discomfort of being challenged. That will open the doors for mentors to speed up our progress. 3. We are not just treating diseases, we are dealing with people. Make the effort to connect with the patient in the room before jumping to medical history.