Vulnerability is Strength with Dr. Richard Pittman

Richard Pittman, MD, is an Associate Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at the Emory School of Medicine. Dr. Pittman was trained at the University of Mississippi, completed his residency at UT Southwestern, and then spent 16 months in Swaziland for HIV care before joining Emory University. Dr. Pittman's interests in technology began as a hobby, but have grown to serving as an EPIC Physician Champion at the Grady Memorial Hospital at Emory. He has delivered numerous presentations about the use of technology, more specifically on the use of mobile technology in healthcare. Dr. Pittman was recently awarded the Dean's Teaching Award at Emory for his dedication to teaching medical students. Vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness. Dr. Richard Pittman encourages us today to be open with our mentors about our challenges. It takes courage to be open and forthright with those who lead us, but the reward is great. As Dr. Pittman puts it: The mentor’s role is to help us improve…so why not take some risks? Honest feedback is another component : It takes strength to listen to, and adhere to constructive criticism from others, but it is yet another tool to grow exponentially and reach new heights of success. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. Give back some of the control to the patient, and use that to improve the outcomes of the clinical encounter. Simply put: Treat patients how we would want to be treated - inspired by Dr. Jeffery Wiese. 2. Vulnerability is a sign of courage, not weakness - inspired by Brene Brown. 3. The path to become an expert requires deliberate practice, with continuous critiquing and constructive criticism - inspired by Anders Ericsson.