The Calling

"This idea that you connect your passions to your career–when you truly do that, it becomes your life. It’s why I still pop out of bed every morning."  – Scott Griffith, Chairman and CEO of Zipcar

               

It may surprise you (I know it surprises ME!) to know that our youngest son, Harrison Payne Prehn, is a poet, writer and a hard-core urban rap artist.  How did a skinny, half-Cuban Louisiana kid, son of two psychologists, grow up to idolize Macklemore and release three hard core rap CDs himself (under his alias “Max Tringham”)?  Worried about the hard-knocks world of entertainment, I ask him recently, “Harrison, why on earth did you decide to become an rap artist?”  He smiled and replied:  “What makes you think I had a choice?”  Like many who are passionate about their careers, he felt a compulsion…an unrelenting need…a “calling” to do what he does.  Is it just a coincidence that the word “vocation” meaning career is derived from the same Latin root “voca” that it shares with “vocal” as in calling?

Are you “called” to serve others in healthcare?  Are you passionate about what you do, driven to get better every day?  Or are you just punching the clock? 

The foundation of The Calling is found in Meaningful Work that serves a Purpose.  When you believe—strike that—when you know that what you do every single day is important, meaningful and serves a purpose, that knowledge  drives the passion that calls you to that career. 

This month our hospital rolled out our new Signature Service framework that supports our Common Purpose.  We’ve defined our Common Purpose—the reason we are “called” to the work we do as “We Care For Life.”  And how do we care for life?  It is through our service as framed by four defined behaviors:  Safety ~ Compassion ~ Professionalism and ~ Efficiency.  A good way to remember these four is with the acronym “SCoPE.”  If you come to work every day focused on making sure patients are Safe, showing Compassion for  patients and your fellow associates in all you do, acting like the Professional that you are, and doing your work in a manner that is Efficient and helps the organization manage resources…well, then, you have heard The Calling.