Why am I well positioned to work in the space of combining traditional medical treatments with related areas? Surely there must be people better qualified, or are there?
I am an Orthopaedic surgeon by training with a specialty expertise in musculoskeletal oncology. I have taken mindset training courses and developed a daily mindfulness meditation practice. I have a strong interest in sleep hygiene, nutrition, and other related fields.
There are numerous other Orthopaedic surgeons and, of course, an even greater number of health care providers. I am certainly not the most prominent of surgeons. I am not an expert in mindset or psychology, nor am I the most proficient meditator, or sleep or nutritional expert. Why, then, am I trying to combine these fields and why do I have the right to try to do this work?
The first question, why am I doing this, can be answered simply: because I think this has the potential to make a major impact on the health and wellness of the entire population. Once we have developed greater health and wellness then we are each free to pursue our passions and interests to the best of our ability and live life to the fullest!
The second question of ‘why me?’ is more nuanced. As painstakingly described above, I am not the foremost expert in my field nor am I a leader in any of the related fields I would like to integrate with healthcare. I do believe that I am uniquely positioned to do this challenging work. Why is that? Because when it is reduced down to its foundation, few other people are as well equipped for this work.
Though there are numerous other healthcare providers and surgeons, the number who have even a basic understanding of mindfulness meditation and maintain an active practice is much, much smaller. Of all the meditation experts, there are not many who are also healthcare providers. Taking that reduced number of people with combined expertise, the number of qualified individuals further decreases by asking of those remaining, how many have taken formal mindset training? How many have cultivated a deep interest and understanding of sleep? Of nutrition? And, most importantly, how many have a combined understanding of each of these areas and are passionate to do the deep work of integrating them all together to improve the health and wellbeing of the population? The answer to this last question is a very small number of people. So while I may not be a world renowned expert in any one of the fields I hope to integrate, I am one of a small number of people with sufficient understanding and knowledge of each area to be able to integrate them.
