Last Thursday, I think, I met Chris, an Adjunct Professor of Theology at Marquette. He’s dismayed at the current crop of undergrads. He blames the iPad. I told him I saw it coming three seconds after Steve Jobs launched the iPod a dozen years ago; the breakdown of community.
He sees very little enthusiasm, curiosity, or interest from his students. He seems sad. Maybe it’s not an elective course. We did not cover that aspect. He thinks they don’t want to be there. Maybe he’s right.
I did toss out a few names just to show him that all is not lost. Borg, Bruggemann, Rohr, Spong and a name he’d not heard; Thomas Hora - Metapsychiatrist.
And, as far as young student types go, Pam sees a young crop of doctors coming up that want a raise and detailed career path advise after a year.
“You haven’t done anything for me yet.” she says.
Pam works for the Medical College and calls herself a fundraiser. I am sure that is the least of what she does. It must be interesting work meeting and greeting philanthropists. She also has concerns with the upcoming younger professionals and their idea about giving back.
We talked about billable increments for doctors and the new empathy training regimen for hospital staff. She said Malcolm Gladwell brought to light a study that indicate nice doctors are sued less often than less-nice doctors regardless of their medical skills.
I am the morning drive guy. It’s relatively rare for me to be able to
bring someone back and continue a conversation that we’d started earlier
in the day. It’s often a genuine pleasure.
What do people want? I offered what I’ve discovered. I spell it RARE because we don’t seem to get enough of it.
Recognition. Attention. Respect. Encouragement. You can make that connection with another. You have to let go of yourself for a moment. And a moment is all it takes.
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