Gratitude Does Matter
Below is my monthly message for the November 2019 edition of the MHRI newsletter, Focus. You can view Focus online at MedStarResearch.org/FOCUS.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It happened again - I spent the last few days thinking about this monthly message only for it to change at the last minute. I knew I wanted to discuss gratitude and the power of giving. I was debating how best to translate the power of gratitude into words, but found myself stuck.
At first, my thought was to approach the message from a personal perspective by sharing the feeling I get when volunteering for medical missions. Alternatively, I considered relying on ‘science’ by quoting this great article I recently read in Frontiers in Psychology which proves that gratitude changes our mood, reduces exhaustion, helps us connect to others and gives a wonderful sense of accomplishment. There was also this delightful video entitled ‘GratiTALK’ filmed at the last Research Symposium which speaks so well to why gratitude matters so much in healthcare.
However, when I sat down this morning to write this column, I opened my email and the direction immediately changed. The email below is from a colleague who is returning from medical leave and it sums everything I was trying to express so much better than I could ever do:
Good Morning,
I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for your support over the last week and a half. It was a spooky time for me and not because it was Halloween! I consider myself extremely fortunate and one of the things that makes me so fortunate is that I have colleagues with such big hearts.
With gratitude,
It happened again - I spent the last few days thinking about this monthly message only for it to change at the last minute. I knew I wanted to discuss gratitude and the power of giving. I was debating how best to translate the power of gratitude into words, but found myself stuck.
At first, my thought was to approach the message from a personal perspective by sharing the feeling I get when volunteering for medical missions. Alternatively, I considered relying on ‘science’ by quoting this great article I recently read in Frontiers in Psychology which proves that gratitude changes our mood, reduces exhaustion, helps us connect to others and gives a wonderful sense of accomplishment. There was also this delightful video entitled ‘GratiTALK’ filmed at the last Research Symposium which speaks so well to why gratitude matters so much in healthcare.
However, when I sat down this morning to write this column, I opened my email and the direction immediately changed. The email below is from a colleague who is returning from medical leave and it sums everything I was trying to express so much better than I could ever do:
Good Morning,
I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for your support over the last week and a half. It was a spooky time for me and not because it was Halloween! I consider myself extremely fortunate and one of the things that makes me so fortunate is that I have colleagues with such big hearts.
With gratitude,
Gratitude
does matter.
Once a year at MedStar Health, we ask our communities to share their gratitude with us. As part of that, we invite you to participate in our annual Power to Heal campaign. This campaign reinforces the importance of bringing our community together, building a culture of expressing and accepting gratitude, all while providing everyone the chance to positively impact the communities we serve. The ultimate goal of our Power to Heal Campaign is to encourage expressions of gratitude between associates.
Once a year at MedStar Health, we ask our communities to share their gratitude with us. As part of that, we invite you to participate in our annual Power to Heal campaign. This campaign reinforces the importance of bringing our community together, building a culture of expressing and accepting gratitude, all while providing everyone the chance to positively impact the communities we serve. The ultimate goal of our Power to Heal Campaign is to encourage expressions of gratitude between associates.
At MHRI, I am proud that the gratitude of our associates and community has
supported over 20 investigators through the New Investigator ‐ Associate Giving Grant Fund. Every dollar donated by associates from this campaign goes to
fund New Investigators so they can collect pilot data that is crucial to
launching their careers at MedStar Health. You can learn more about the
recipients of the fund from my recent blog post or in this
issue of FOCUS below.
Join us in supporting our future and our future researchers by directing your gift of gratitude to the MEDSTAR HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE when you visit MedStarHealth.org/YourPower.
Thank you for your commitment to advancing health through research!
Join us in supporting our future and our future researchers by directing your gift of gratitude to the MEDSTAR HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE when you visit MedStarHealth.org/YourPower.
Thank you for your commitment to advancing health through research!
Neil
P.S. Mark your calendars now for Monday, April 6, 2020, for the 2020 MedStar Health-Georgetown University Research Symposium! View the flyer here.
Read Focus at MedStarResearch.org/FOCUS.
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