A Lesson from a Pair of Scissors
Excerpt taken from The Value of Sharing: The Mayo Brothers (Mayo Clinic) Story
When the Mayo Brothers were young, their father, a country doctor, would take them with him to visit patients. He allowed them to observe, then assist, in surgical procedures.
One particular day when they were not paying attention to what their father was explaining to them, a family friend explained their role in being given information.
“Have you ever saw scissors that could cut with only one blade? Each side has to help the other. That’s called sharing. It’s also called cooperation and working together, but I like to think of it as sharing.”
“Your dad is sharing right now,” he continued. “He’s explaining this operation to you. So he’s doing his part, isn’t he? What about you? Are you doing your part? Are you paying attention?”
“I see,” said Will. “There are two sides to sharing. One is giving and the other is receiving.”
“It’s like talking and listening”, said Charlie.
The Mayo Brothers, with their father, went on to open the Mayo Clinic. They would visit other top hospitals all around the world to learn new ways to provide better care to their patients. They then returned to their Hospital and invited others to come to them so they could share their knowledge. All with the goal to improve patient care.
PEI Seniors Homes encourages their staff to be engaged in the learning process. To this end, we have invested in Surge Learning which provides online courses in the Long Term Care field. It enables the staff to increase their knowledge at their convenience using their computer or tablet or smart phone. It is expected of the staff to take the courses and share their knowledge with their co-workers. We all have the goal to continuously improve our care to our residents. PEI Seniors Home Management and Employees are working as a pair of scissors!