8 November - 2021IN MY OPINIONA Key to Well - Being Success: "The Buddy System"By Jonathan E. Moss, MBA, FHFMA; Director, Medical Practice Business Services, Baystate Medical PracticesBuddy up! Most folks had a similar introduction to the buddy system. As a youth, you were heading out on some `life-threatening' adventure - swimming in a lake, cruising an amusement park, or hiking a forested mountain (ahem, hill) when the adult in charge did the mental math to realize it was impossible to keep the gaggle of youth safe. The adults didn't have enough hands nor eyes to keep everyone out of harm's way. "Buddy up" was the command inspiring a mad dash of youth grasping hands with someone nearby. If you were lucky (or particularly quick), you grabbed the hand of a close and trustworthy friend. Chances are you didn't. In fact, you may have hardly known the person. At this point, the stark reality sets in. How on earth is this young person who I hardly know going to keep me safe? All you knew was as "buddies" you looked out for one another. The partnership and hence collective provides strength and safety. The military adopted the concept of battle buddies in the Army, shipmates in the Navy and wingmen in the Air Force. It's commonsensical that pairs of buddied soldiers are more than twice as strong, safety conscious, resourceful and intelligent than any one soldier. It's a no-brainer to implement this force-multiplier when heading into battle. Leaders in healthcare should consider invoking the buddy system.Burnout has become an insidious challenge in healthcare - only to be magnified by the ongoing pandemic battleground. Caregivers of nearly all roles (but, particularly at the bedside) are feeling stressed, undervalued, threatened, and many have lost sight of the `purpose' behind their career-long generosity and hard work. Wellness programs providing nutrition resources, step-challenges, mindfulness training and other personal health inducements are foundational to well-being, but not sufficient. Benefits now extend to dependent-care support, financial education, concierge services and other methods enabling integration between career and personal life, but if that were the extent of the offerings, organizations still come up short.Today's healthcare survival depends on interdependence. Employee assistance programs and therapy are proven `safety net' devices; effectively catching the fallen, but doing little to prevent the fall. Progressive organizations have mature widespread programs for peer support, coaching, mentorship, performance improvement and breeding engaged well-Jonathan E. Moss
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