People Are Primary: A Perspective from the Keystone IV Conference.

Abstract

As a person invested in personal doctoring, what promises are you willing to make about when and where you will "be there" for others? Attendees of the G. Gayle Stephens Keystone IV Conference answered that question on submitted index cards and through ongoing conference discussions. Those data were analyzed using grounded theory and combined to develop the following answer in aggregate: We will be held accountable to those who need us. We understand the need for expertise and compassion as we help others to navigate the intersection of science and humanism. We will serve as leaders in personal, public, and political conversations. We will mark a path for the profession ensuring alignment of personal practices with professional principles. We will not allow the needed conversations of processes, data points, and determinations of value to undermine our relationships with our patients. We will be there for you. Attentive and fully present. We will care for you when you have no need and you do not ask. We will center that care in your lived experience of health and illness, knowing you over time. We will be here for you now, over time and across distance, in ways that foster the feeling of wholeness and belonging. We will use the best knowledge, best tailored to meet our shared understanding of your goals and aspirations.