Lauren Weatherly is Azalea Health's Senior Vice President of Marketing responsible for developing and leading global marketing strategy.
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The healthcare industry has seen incredible changes in recent years, with new regulations and mandates shaping operations.
The last few decades—and the past few years in particular—have been some of the most transformative in the industry’s history. It’s a safe bet that these changes will continue in the years ahead.
In some ways, the healthcare industry is similar to other industries experiencing changes as new technologies disrupt the landscape. But unlike other industries, in healthcare, these changes tend to be higher profile as they impact every American in one of the most personal areas: their health and well-being.
Instead of focusing on the challenges of what these changes mean for the industry—and individual team members’ roles—we should approach these changes as learning opportunities. Simultaneously, it is a chance to refocus the industry’s approach to the patient experience.
As I mentioned in my last piece, I am committed to lifelong learning, and the healthcare industry is an industry that is ideally suited for this mindset. I try to set aside time regularly to learn new approaches and develop skill sets that I find helpful, whether I’m learning new professional capabilities or expanding my personal passions.
My newest role even gave me a fresh outlook on my career in marketing, and it has inspired me to continue to maintain a level of curiosity. I make it a point to approach each day with a desire to learn something new about the healthcare space.
At every stage of my career, a continuous learning mindset has benefitted me personally and professionally, and I’ve gained a new appreciation for it by working in the healthcare industry. When I approach my daily responsibilities, I focus on opportunities to improve.
Why We Should Pursue Continual Learning
Continual learning isn’t just critical to my career path and for me as a leader; it’s also vital to my team and our company’s success. I want to be able to lead my team to new heights and set them up for future success; helping them gain new skills is central to that mission.
I am not alone in this way of thinking. Increasingly, workplace and human resource experts recognize continual learning for what it is: a business imperative that can give an organization—whether it’s a local nonprofit or a multinational corporation—a competitive advantage.
Focusing on continual learning doesn’t mean we have to learn skills we won’t ever use in our daily lives. Instead, it’s about seizing incremental opportunities to pick up new talents that we can apply to the real world and the challenges we face every day.
In my experience, I’ve found that my teams want the ability to learn new skills and build new experiences. It gives them a new outlook on their roles. It’s a perspective that is particularly important to communicators and storytellers.
However, continual learning is not possible if we don’t remain curious.
The Case For Curiosity
There have been a lot of studies and articles that highlight the business case for curiosity (paywall). The reasons are varied, but generally, I find it makes the work experience more enjoyable.
Curiosity can make us more engaged, and it can also lead to better work. Additionally, I find it also helps us feel more fulfilled with ourselves.
Think about how it might impact a decision. If we approached every decision with curiosity, we might explore a broader range of solutions rather than the bare minimum we might otherwise consider.
I’ve seen an increasing number of conversations about team members who want more meaning in their roles in recent years. People no longer define their role’s benefits solely by the compensation and the number of days off it provides.
Considering the difficulties many organizations face just trying to hire new employees, there is an opportunity to continually upskill team members and grow existing talent to serve in new roles. I think healthcare is perfectly positioned to deliver on that opportunity.
A Better Way To Tackle The Old Problems
If I learned anything from the past two years, it was about the notion that we have to constantly find better ways to operate. Hopefully, we will keep that entrepreneurial spirit front and center as we enter a new era.
In my previous role, that way of thinking required discussing shifting events from in-person to virtual amid the pandemic. I quickly learned that many companies were not prepared to make the shift until the pandemic forced their hands.
Healthcare—and especially rural healthcare—is often an in-person experience. However, the idea of finding new and better ways to approach legacy problems translates to any industry—and remaining curious can help the healthcare industry proactively shift rather than transition when outside forces require a change.
When it comes to healthcare, we should look at changes not as hurdles we need to overcome but as opportunities to double down on our mission: to provide accessible, affordable, high-quality care to the communities we serve.
Many of the changes—particularly the regulatory ones—may seem like challenges, at least at first. But I firmly believe the same mindset that enables us to remain curious at work is the same outlook that will allow us to take these changes in stride and thrive.
Perhaps if we do so, we’ll not only elevate the patient experience, but we’ll also make the changes feel like a puzzle worth solving. Who knows? Maybe we’ll even have a little fun in the process.
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