Death, Humor and Bringing Humanism Back to Medicine with Dr. Ed Creagan

In this episode we interview Dr. Ed Creagan. Dr. Ed was first board-certified in medical oncology with a focus on malignant melanoma and lung cancer.  He then transitioned into a career in hospice and palliative medicine.

He was the Mayo Clinic president 1999, 2000, 2001. He was responsible to the Mayo Clinic CEO who directed answered to the internal board of governors and the external trustees. He believes that this gave him a fascinating insight into what he called the Masters Of The Universe. 

On a local as well as an international platform.  He was able to see the skill set of those who were incredibly effective leaders and those who were not.  Every effective leader he noted was an effective communicator.

If you want to connect with Dr. Creagan, you can find him at his website or at @EdwardCreagan on Twitter, IG, Linked In.

In this episode we talk about bringing humanity back to medicine, his perspective as a hospice physician, and how he copes with the inevitability of death. 

Book giveaway congratulations to Jenna Dabaja who won a free copy of Dr. Steve Swensen’s book “Mayo Clinic Strategies to Reduce Burnout - 12 Actions to Create the Ideal Workplace” from our last book giveaway. Congratulations Jenna!

In addition, we are going to do another book giveaway for this episode. We will be giving away a book from one of my favorite physician authors. We are going to give away Atul Gawande’s book “Being Mortal”. This is a book that both Peter and I loved reading ourselves and our guest for today’s episode suggested as well. Check out our social media pages for the details.  

Questions we asked include: 

• How did you get involved in hospice medicine and leadership? 
• How can we be more human in medicine? 
• What can death teach us about living a good life? What are a couple of the biggest lessons you’ve learned from it? 
• What is something you never understood about dying until you experienced it at the bedside?
• As someone who stands at the bedside and cares for those who are dying, do you ever feel anxiety with your own mortality?
• How do you balance your creative passions with your clinical work? 
• What are some great books on end of life care? 
• What are great books on leadership? 

Our favorite quotes: 

• “It’s easy to sit on the sidelines or in the bleachers and criticize leadership, but when the buck stops with you... it’s a whole different ball game.” -Dr. Ed 
• “The most significant factor in effective leadership is the ability to communicate” -Dr. Ed 
• "The common man goes nowhere. You have got to be uncommon." -Herb Brooks
• On empathy, “Unless we are sick in our life we know nothing” -Dr. Ed 
• “At the bedside, I never see patients talking about their achievements… what I do hear about is regrets and remorse and missed opportunities.” -Dr. Ed 
• “If we are not dead fit… we ain’t gonna go the distance in the current world.” -Dr. Ed 

Book suggestions: 

• Anything by Ira Byock 
• Anything by Atul Gawande (check out our social media for a chance to win!) 
• When Breath Become Air by Paul Kalanithi 
• So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport 

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