The other AI: 12 healthcare books for Yuletide — No. 7
Reading suggestions for the healthcare nerd in your life
2023 has been, as I’m sure you are tediously aware, the year of AI.
(If you don’t believe me, Collins has given AI ‘word’ of the year status)
As I’m sure you’re equally aware, AI stands in this case for Artificial Intelligence - a branch of technology and computer science that is not yet known for the quality of its empathy.
Which makes it a little sad that the ‘tech AI’ has crowded out its more emotionally available cousin ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ - also known, to its adherents, as AI.
What, you may ask, is Appreciative Inquiry?
Let’s shake-out a dash of irony and ask Chat GPT:
Hey GPT. What’s appreciative inquiry?
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a philosophy and methodology for organizational development that focuses on identifying and amplifying the positive aspects of an organization rather than dwelling on its problems or deficits. It was developed by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva in the 1980s.
OK. So, I’m a doctor. Ask me a question based on Appreciative Inquiry
"In your medical practice, can you share a moment when you felt most inspired and fulfilled in making a positive impact on a patient's life, and how can we replicate or build upon that experience to enhance the overall patient care in our medical team?"
As the new AI on the block has confirmed, AI (the emotional one) is a way of helping people be more positive about their experiences of work by asking them to reflect on good stuff - and then use that positivity to benefit patients and staff.
Here’s how.
Title: Appreciative Inquiry in Healthcare
Authors: Natalie May et al*
Date of Publication: 2011
Amazon rating: 67,472 in Medical Books
in the US - not readily available in the UK
Why you should read it
To undermine the prevalence of your negative biases.
Synopsis
The book starts by telling us: “In 2007, University of Virginia house staff’s training programme was put on probation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education”.
This slightly bland statement must surely hide a multitude of sins, although none of these are aired. In my opinion (lawyers please note, not stated as fact) if your graduate medical teaching programme is put on ice by the regulator, your organisation has probably been found to be badly bullying, exploiting and undermining your junior doctors in training. Not a good look for a big hospital group.
And definitely bad for everyone, including patients.
Thankfully, UV clearly did the right thing and found a way to stop whatever-it-was from happening. And they did this in part by using Appreciative Inquiry (AI) extensively, introducing a programme which promoted unconditional positive focus from the boardroom to the patient’s bedside. Their graduate teaching programme was rapidly re-instated, and - given its success - the AI continued. This book explains some of this.
But thankfully the great majority of this book — and in my view, the reason why it is such a great read — consists of clear examples and scenarios showing how to formulate questions in the style of AI that could be used to improve patient care, colleague relationships and leadership behaviour.
Here’s a sample of a few of the high-level, scene-setting questions or instructions that are scattered throughout the book. All of these examples are followed by a series of equally interesting subsidiary questions:
Over the course of your career, you have encountered many patients. If you could pick one patient to stand out because of his or her story, who would that person be?
Reflect on all the teams of which you have been a part. Talk about one team that focused on possibilities, not limitations
Who are your great role models for good health?
Tell about a time in your life, when you felt proud of the decision you made to do the right thing.
What factors in your organisation make this a great place to work?
Recall a time when you performed an act of kindness for someone at work.
Think of a time when you believed your work was meaningful. What was the work how did it make a difference for you or for others?
In healthcare, we spend a lot of time problem-solving through the detection and elimination of the negative, whether that is disease, medical error or more serious calamities.
AI invites us to get good at asking: What went well? What makes us proud? What makes us happy?
You may not use this book, or the technique, in order to improve your workplace, but I can assure you, just reading it and finding some time to think through these sorts of questions can itself be an uplifting experience.
What is clear from the comments on Amazon is that we don’t do enough of this in healthcare. Here’s a scathing example from the US - but it might easily be from the UK:
I just wish the management of hospitals would use it instead of the top down bullying management styles that have become a part of todays health care
If you can’t get hold of a copy of the beautiful book (which I recommend you at least try), then I guess you can turn to AI’s tech-bro cousin for some help:
Hey GPT. I’m feeling lousy about my healthcare job. The doctors are on strike and the patients are queuing out the door of the hospital. I’m exhausted. Ask me an appreciative inquiry question.
I'm sorry to hear that you're going through such a challenging time. Here's an appreciative inquiry question to help you focus on positive aspects and potential solutions:
"Reflecting on your experiences, can you share a moment in your healthcare career when you felt most connected to your colleagues and patients, and what strengths or strategies from that time could be drawn upon to navigate the current situation during the strike and overwhelming patient queues?"
My response to this is: “I’m afraid I can't do that …. Dave”
Asked to lighten up, our bot-friend eventually comes up with something a little less wooden:
"Thinking about your healthcare journey, can you recall a time when the team turned a chaotic situation into a success story, perhaps with a dash of humor? How might those positive vibes help us navigate the current storm of the doctors' strike and patient overflow?".
Not there yet, Hal.
For now, we need humans to provide us with the ‘other AI’.
My rating
Readability: 9/ 10 (this is simple but powerful stuff - and it’s easy for dipping)
Applicability: 9 / 10 (this sort of positivity should be the stuff of habit)
Giftability: 3 /10 (Tragically, it’s out of print. If you find a used copy, snatch it.)
* Full list of authors: Natalie May, Daniel Becker, Richard Frankel, Julie Halzlip, Rebecca Harmon, Margaret Plews-Ogan, John Schorling, Anne Williams, and Diana Whitney