Make a difference: Become a positive deviant [Faire la différence: Devenir un déviant positif]

摘要

Much remains to be done to achieve the vision of an effective, equitable, safe, and patient-centred health care system. In a recent Commonwealth Fund survey, only 40% of family physicians across Canada said that the Canadian health care system worked well, ranking seventh among the countries studied. It is easy to feel powerless when faced with systems, and to throw in the towel.Yet, as Atul Gawande explains so well in his book Better,you don't have to make a great discovery to make a difference. According to the author, it takes diligence, moral clarity, and ingenuity. Gawande cites the examples of Virginia Apgar and LeRoy Matthews, who made outstanding contributions through very simple actions based on their observations. In the early 1950s, Apgar devised a score that is still used to assess a newborn's need for medical intervention. Matthews challenged the poor prognosis of children suffering from pancreatic cystic fibrosis by asking parents to "clap" on their children's chests every morning to loosen the tenacious mucus clogging their airways.