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DeVault: Competence means nothing without compassion
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LAS VEGAS — Outgoing president of the American College of Gastroenterology, Kenneth R. DeVault, MD, encouraged his peers to lead with competence backed by compassion and empathy for colleagues, staff and, of course, patients.
“We and our patients assume competency. We all should strive for that competency and consider it our minimum standard,” DeVault, from Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla., said during his address. “But competency means absolutely nothing without compassion.”
Kenneth R. DeVault
DeVault said competence should be assessed, but that the currently proposed Maintenance of Certification methods are antiquated and must be updated to reflect current practices. Fighting against this has been the “biggest challenge” this year.
“The MOC needs to be simple, less intrusive and less expensive. ... We absolutely support ending the high-stakes, every-10-years exam,” he said. “It really does not relate to how we learn as physicians anymore.”
DeVault said the assessments should not be timed as physicians should be able to access information as they do in daily practice and the tests should be modular, allowing physicians to be assessed in the specialty areas where they concentrate.
“As an individual, as a physician and a patient, and as a leader of the college, I support that physicians should keep up,” he said. “But we also believe that the vast majority of our members will do that and do it ethically without a costly big brother testing environment.”
Still, DeVault stands by the necessity of collecting data through means such as the GI Quality Improvement Consortium (GIQuIC) and hopes the college can support its members in doing so.
“It’s important to prove to the public and ourselves that we are the high-quality doctors we say we are. Collecting and reporting quality data is more and more important and it’s not going to go away,” he said.
DeVault went on to give advice based upon his experience, advising the audience to serve before leading, working with consistence, listening more than talking and leading with compassion.
“If you have not been a good servant, you probably haven’t earned the right to lead,” he said. “I would challenge you that wherever you are in your career, look for a chance to serve.”
And in that service, “start early, work consistently and you’ll get where you want to be.”
As a physician goes through his or her career, speaking less and listening more will help, DeVault said. More will be gleaned from that than expressing your own opinion and, moreover, refrain from speaking when angry and hold back deconstructive comments.
“Every day, try to say please, thank you and I’m sorry more than you did the day before. That will make you stronger, not weaker,” he said. “When you lead, lead with two things: empathy and inward reflections.”
That empathy extends to one’s staff, DeVault reminded the audience. If a physician treats his or her staff with empathy and compassion, the staff will return the respect and support the physician perhaps even when it is not deserved.
“We need to demonstrate that compassion to everyone we interact with as often as humanly possible. If you remember those two words — competency and compassion — you’ll take care of your patients well; you’ll interact with your staff better; you will live your life well publicly and privately; and, working with the College, you’ll be successful.” – by Katrina Altersitz
Reference:
DeVault, K. Presidential Address. Presented at: ACG Annual Scientific Meeting; October 17-19, 2016; Las Vegas.
Disclosure: DeVault reports no relevant financial disclosures.