Scott Burrows

Scott Burrows, Healthcare Speaker on Resilience, Grit and Teamwork

The Delta Variant: As Tough as We Want It to Be

 

Being a Healthcare Keynote and Motivational Speaker on resilience, grit and teamwork, I realize that while no one can predict the future, all of us have a choice when it comes to the “Delta Variant” of the COVID-19 virus.

The choice is whether to give into the anger, frustration and negativity stemming from the possibility of another round of lockdowns, mask mandates, social isolation and such, or to lock in on a course of action.

I was recently fascinated by an open forum that appeared in the Denver Post (July 30, 2021) where pro-vaccine people, some of whom worked in the medical field, were given the opportunity to vent. Typical of the responses:

“The vaccines are proven to be safe, effective and free, so there is no excuse for this vaccination reluctance. It is time to stop putting all of our time and enormous resources to convince the unvaccinated to get vaccinated.”

Anna Gustafson, writing for the Michigan Advance (May 21, 2021) noted that about 8 percent of healthcare workers were still vaccine hesitant.

“The reasons behind the health care workers’ vaccine hesitancy were varied, with the most common reasons cited being how quickly the vaccine was developed, insufficient safety and effectiveness data…Nurses were much more likely than physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and physician assistants to be vaccine hesitant.”

If the healthcare industry has its small core of anti-vax dissenters, why should we be surprised that with the spread of social media and media negativity, half-truths and innuendo, that the general population is rife with misconceptions?

A Ward a Long Time Ago

As a healthcare industry keynote and motivational speaker on resilience, grit and teamwork, my take on this issue comes out of my own experience. I was a passenger in an automobile that was involved in a horrific accident. In seconds, I went from a being a football player and martial artist to a quadriplegic.

People were supportive – to a point, but there were negative people who told me not to expect too much or to settle for minimal movement or to admit to the status quo of so-so progress. As I pushed my body further than anyone thought possible, I regained more movement and feeling and became more resilient in my thinking.

In the hospital the resiliency led to my philosophy of Vision—Mindset—Grit. My Vision was that I would overcome the obstacles in front of me; I would have a Mindset of being mentally tough in meeting the challenge head-on and I would apply a daily Grit to everything I did. It wasn’t easy, there is nothing that is easy when we are faced with a formidable opponent.

However, if we in the healthcare industry give into the anger, frustration and negativity of having to deal with a wave among the unvaccinated, we will accomplish nothing. On the other hand, if we see as our mission as the increasing of vaccination rates, expanding education, providing information to the reluctant, and digging in among ourselves, where we join together and fight together, there is nothing we can’t accomplish.

We either give-in and sit down on ourselves, or stand as an industry. We can do this.

 

For more information on booking Scott Burrows, Healthcare Motivational Speaker on Resilience, Grit and Teamwork for your next event, contact him through this website or his office at: (520) 548-1169

 

 

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