April 2023

Marcum Barkin’

By Dr. Todd Marcum

Bob Dylan has spent a lifetime writing and championing freedom. It is not lost on him that with freedom comes great responsibility. He missed on the gender of his quote, it should read His or Hers….but the philosophy is spot on. We talk a lot about the Freedom to Choose but do we talk about the Responsibility that goes with that Freedom enough?

When we talk about The Freedom to Choose, it means different things to different people. For most of us, it means choosing to own our own hospital and share in those benefits together. In some situations, it may mean the ability to choose what drug you want to prescribe, whereas in other companies, that was restricted. It may mean you can pursue additional continuing education to learn a new skill or become certified in a specific area. It might mean you have a distinct say in the hiring process or the ability to truly practice Fear Free. It might mean all those things.

What Responsibility comes with this Freedom? First and foremost, we must run a good business. WE are all responsible for making good business choices. One example might be that you have the freedom to buy whatever drug you want, but if it’s going to go out of date before you use it all, then is that a responsible decision? You have the freedom to hire team members, but if you are overstaffed, then is that good for the business?