Humility in Healthcare

“What’s Humility Got to Do with It?” So begins a recent blog post from Press Ganey, the organization that recognized us with a Guardian of Excellence Award for ranking in the top 1% nationally for patient experience.

Humility’s not a word you often hear in healthcare. With the rapid expansion of local health systems and increasing competition between hospitals, the focus on physicians can outweigh the focus on patients.

Yet, here at The Ghosh Center, humility is fundamental to the practice of medicine.

The Press Ganey post states: “At the physician level, humility is the core value that enables doctors to relate to patients as individuals, empathize with their suffering and partner with them to alleviate it. Practicing humility means checking egos at the door, engaging in continuous self-evaluation, recognizing areas in need of improvement and working as part of a team to improve them.”

Those of us who work with Dr. Ghosh know these characteristics well. He’s an unassuming individual, who would rather talk about others than himself. In fact, he may not see this blog post until weeks after its publication because his primary focus is on patients. His humility sets an example for our team and forges our patients-first culture.

The article goes on to say that having exceptionally humble leadership is what sets high-performing practices apart from the pack. Why? Humble leaders don’t rest on their accomplishments. Yes, they celebrate achievements. But then they focus forward, continuing their efforts to improve the quality and safety of patient care.

So even as we’re celebrating our award, we’re back to our core mission: caring for people facing serious illness, equipping them to make decisions, supporting them and the people who love them. Not because we expect to earn awards, but because we intend to earn the trust they’ve placed in us.