Goal Setting

This morning we are heading back from Boston. Many people are walking around doing the "marathon shuffle." This well known shuffle is seen when walking after a race (very slow walk) and definitely when going up/down stairs. Handrails have never been used more than after a race. Similar to the hospital world, there was a lot of talk about goal setting and how everyone performed relative to their goals. Many debriefing on the race, discussing what they did well and areas for improvement. I see this a lot during patient handoffs when the staff discuss how their patient is doing as the staff come on/off shift. The goal to keep our patients safe starts with understanding the goals of care. In many ways, our life in the hospital is like a marathon - times that we are going fast, times we are struggling and need encouragement and times that we are just thrilled with how things are going. Marathons involve long term planning with short term goals along the way. In hospitals, we are on our feet 8, 10 and 12 hours a day...more than any one on their feet in a marathon.