Service, Culture, and Weight loss drugs. Plus na'an!
RWL #396
Greetings from the Last Homely House (LHH)! I had a great time in Newport, Rhode Island last week at the New England Alliance conference that I mentioned. I had a chance to catch up with one of my fabulous young alumni and network with some great folks who are doing the hard but meaningful work of caring for our elderly and fragile. I’ll be heading to Tampa next week for the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) annual meeting, which should be fun. AUPHA certifies our undergraduate program, so it’s good to see what everyone is up to and get the latest down-low.
I haven’t shared a recipe in a while, and this week I made one of my favorites, so I thought you needed to hear about it. TLW and I both try to make sure we have some good vegetarian dishes in rotation, and I particularly like curried red lentils served with homemade na’an. I loooove na’an. Fluffy and crisp, all at once. My recipe is stuffed with caramelized onions that give it a bit of sweetness and preferably cooked on the grill, though you can also do stove-top prep. I like to tear bits of the na’an off and scoop some lentils. TLW does not do hot, but I like to slather my lentils with sriracha. So good!
On to the links! As usual, willing good for all of you!
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Read
What: As you Were Military Review, “Ten Years, Eight Months, Five Days” by Catherine Smart
Why: The author is an old friend from my college days. We met in ROTC and were commissioned at the same time. She went off to be a Military police officer and I became a Medical Service Corps officer. She was much more hoo-ah (as we say) than I was. Her essay is about the ten years, eight months, five days she served on active duty before she chose to leave. Catherine was (and is) deeply committed to service. She would have liked to have had a full career, but she faced the challenge of being a woman in a dual-military (husband and wife both in the Army) family. You can feel her sense of loss from not being able to continue to serve.
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Watch
What: BerryDunn, Building a Culture of Staff Engagement and Improved Patient Experience and Outcomes (15 min)
Why: I had the opportunity to join a panel on culture and staff engagement two weeks ago. I commented on thick culture, mentorship, LMX, burnout, and my 3C’s of meaning. It’s like a typical RWL, but live. If you want to see my 15’ish minutes, skip forward to about the 6 minute mark.
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Listen
What: The Journal, Introducing Science Vs - Ozempic: Is It Scarier Than We Thought? (42 min)
Why: Weight loss drugs are big business. But they are getting some scary reviews - about muscle loss and suicidal ideation. This podcast looks into the research and finds most of the hype is overblown. It’s good to remember that the media has an incentive to shock and looking at the actual research sometimes shows a very different story.
I am deeply suspicious of these drugs, but so far they seem ok.