Dooley Noted: 1/27/2014
Some colleagues have so much ego and dogma that it inhibits the learning process for everyone involved.
I never have to worry about that at Einstein College of Medicine.
Last week, I was dissecting the nasal cavity and nasopharynx (read: nose area of the throat). I saw copious dried blood in the sinuses, along with a white mass in the nasopharynx.
I knew this was the area of highest incidence of cancerous tumors in that region. Thus, I asked for confirmation from two brilliant colleagues: Dr. Sadofsky, a pathologist, and Dr. Flax, a general surgeon.
As the three of us brainstormed, I watched these brilliant men in their thinking processes. I said the tumor did not resemble a polyp, and Dr. Flax agreed and noted it likely wasn’t a carcinoma. Dr. Sadofsky agreed, and the two men explained their reasonings.
As I watched them feed off each other for ideas, Dr. Sadofsky suggested the possibility it was a chondroma. Dr. Flax marched right over to look up research reports of nasopharyngeal chondroma – a benign tumor none of us knew existed!
While Dr. Flax was finding the papers, Dr. Sodofsky said this to the amazed students:
“See this? This is what it’s all about. No competition. Just collaboration – colleagues bringing what they know to the table to spark ideas in each other.”
Before we even took a histological slide, we had a solid hypothesis of the tumor’s origin.
Ego and doubt never got in the way.
Competition was no where to be found.
A chiropractor and anatomist collaborated with a pathologist and surgeon to get answers.
Know when to compete, and know when to collaborate.
I’m always leaning towards the latter.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley