A few months ago, I attended a @healthaffairs webinar featuring @maninderkahlon and the work being done to address social determinants of health. The facilitator was lovely and asked Maninder how someone with her background wound up in this role. It was refreshing to hear her poised yet lively response that she “followed her heart in a random walk” and is a part of “innovation to make societal impact”.
When I began my EMBA in Strategic Leadership in 2017, the plan wasn’t to become an entrepreneur. But life happened… and I chose to follow my heart in a seemingly random walk. My goal wasn’t to scale my business or get acquired. Rather, it was to continue learning more about the world we live in and how I can make meaningful societal impact while providing flexibility to spend precious time with my family undergoing acute on chronic health matters. As with most entrepreneurs, the experiences I’ve gained these past few years have been incredible [and some of them incredibly painful!!].
The experiences I’ve had with my concierge nursing work has propelled me to connect with many folks through this site in an effort to gain a better understanding of diverse areas; I am grateful to each and every one of you. My work with non-profits, philanthropic ventures and interim leadership/special projects with industries outside of healthcare has continued to open my eyes to the possibilities. It has also motivated me to return to school [again] - this time to become a Doctorate-prepared Nurse Practitioner. Yes, I want to have a small clinical practice offering the kind of care I’d like to receive from a provider.
But I also want more, much more… I want a better understanding of the higher level clinical aspects of care and participate in research of economic impacts for quality of life focused, patient-centric care and systems to support them. I want a better understanding of ways we can learn from other industries and countries on improving the health of our healthcare system and therefore nation. Essentially, a better understanding to help further inform innovation for societal impact… not just for my concierge clients but for people, like my own family, that could never afford the luxury offerings. The disruption our society is facing lends itself to a significant transformation for good if we’re willing to come together with new solutions- we need to gather our courage and continue.
It’s amazing how many people can’t understand a nurse with an MBA. And, they really can’t understand some of the business decisions I’ve made to do the right thing by patients [not instituting crisis pay, for example, and turning down financial opportunities that don’t align with my values]. But, I truly believe, a clearer path will reveal itself if I continue to follow my heart and continually look for ways to contribute to innovation for societal impact.
In the meantime, I continue to develop my special projects contracts and concierge offerings with excitement for what will unfold. I continue to refine my self-care practices to strengthen me for the journey. I continue to find joy despite the heartaches faced. I continue to find my voice. I continue to follow my heart in an effort to contribute to the innovation for societal impact that so many others before me have done.