Pedro Rodriguez MD Plastic Surgery Team
Even though March Madness won’t be taking over our TV screens because of coronavirus, the weeks leading up to the tournament got me thinking about teamwork and how collaborative medicine is and should be.
Americans interact with many health care providers during their lifetimes – from primary care physicians and nurses to dentists and surgeons. The delivery of health care involves many teams and working as a team is a key factor in delivering great care for our patients and their families.
Here are a few ways we cultivate and promote the team approach:
The alley-oop. I collaborate weekly with other surgeons on cases that didn’t originate in plastic surgery. Think of when someone experiences a traumatic injury or needs a major surgery. I get called off the bench to help with reconstruction for everything from spine surgery to heart surgery. It’s important for me to interact with other specialties and partner with other physicians to constantly learn from other medical leaders in plastic surgery. Continuous learning is a priority.
Huddle up. There are several individuals every day who help make health care interactions run smoothly – from the person who schedules appointments to the nurses who prep patients for procedures. Each role is critical and essential to set patients up for the best outcomes.
A win for the team. The team in this instance is the community. The Rockford region has tremendous health care resources available to area residents. The goal of starting this blog was to share interesting and important health and wellness news with patients and their families, fellow providers, and anyone interested in improving their physical, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing. The Rockford community has been good to me, so I prioritize giving back through groups such as the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford and Rockford Area Minority Management (RAMM) Scholars.
I’ll miss tuning into the March Madness action this year and watching highlights of those nail-biter games. But I look forward to pursuing new ways to collaborate with my team, fellow physicians and community organizations.
A special thanks to all our team members for your daily help and commitment in patient care. We could not achieve the great results we obtain on a constant basis without your hard work and commitment to excellence.
These are difficult times for all of us. I encourage you to please follow all recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). By keeping you and your family healthy, you are also keeping our community healthy. We are in this together and as a community we will remain strong.