The Link Between Healthcare Work and the Pinewood Derby

As-salamu alaykum,

Ever heard of the Pinewood Derby? I certainly hadn’t until about 3 or 4 weeks ago when my wife pointed out to me that our kids had a car race coming up in their penultimate Cub scouts meeting for the year. I soon found out that this was a wooden car racing event of the Cub Scout wing of the Boy Scouts of America program. 

In the week leading up to the race, we ordered the supplies to make the cars and blocked out some time to work on the project.

We spent about 2.5 hours working on the wooden frames, the metal axles and the wheels. It was among many things a true test of focus for the boys and of patience on my part helping them navigate different aspects of the project.

We were very happy (maybe even overconfident - according to our oldest son) with the outcome of the project…until

Fast forward to race day, other Cub scouts graced the occasion with remarkable cars with intricate designs that factored in key aspects of the Physics behind a successful showing. 

While we considered the same factors, our inexperience in executing on them was more than apparent. Suffice it to say - none of our 3 cars did well. 

Sound familiar?

Maybe not readily.

When we take a closer look though, we can appreciate a few insights that are relevant to our journeys as healthcare professionals navigating a fresh challenge (think #Pinewood Derby) often in a bid to address complex patient problems each of which is nuanced by social determinants, increasing federal oversight, not to mention the rapidly evolving clinical guidelines among others.

Our own unique perspectives also play a role  - informed by many confounding factors including our mental health and overall wellness - to adequately juxtapose the relevant factors (think #Pinewood Derby Physics) for an optimal outcome for all key stakeholders.

As we take a moment to reflect upon - to practice being among the people of reason - the Pinewood Derby experience and the link to our work in healthcare and our journey of cultivating resilience to burnout proof our careers, a few things come to mind;

1. “Ego is the Enemy of Barakah”

Our lower selves, the nafs, when untrained inclines towards our unfiltered desires one of them being to have an inflated sense of ourselves, the ego, and our capabilities to drive superior outcomes. It is far removed from what Allah, the Most High, and His Prophet Muhammad PBUH, call us towards - to acknowledge that the outcome is not in our hands but rather in Allah’s hands.  

In Surah Al-Waaqi’ah, Allah, the Most High, nudges us very directly in this regard when He says;

Surah Al-Waaqi’ah v63-64: “Have you considered what you sow? Is it you who cause it to grow, or is it We Who do so?”

This rhetorical question challenges us to rethink the outcomes of our work (i.e. the seeds that we sow) - good and the not-so-good patient or organization outcomes (i.e. the harvest) and to appreciate that the we do not have as much control as we sometimes ascribe to ourselves. 

This brings us to the second connection that we can draw from this Pinewood Derby experience;

2. Focus on the Process

Prophet Muhammad PBUH teaches us the importance of doing the work to the degree of proficiency that is correlated to superior outcome while simultaneously acknowledging the divide role in driving any outcome regardless of our best efforts. 

In a hadith narrated by Anas Ibn Malik (May Allah have mercy on him), a man said: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall I tie it (my camel) and rely(upon Allah), or leave it loose and rely(upon Allah)?" He said: "Tie it and rely(upon Allah)." [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2517]

This hadith highlights the need for us to do our part - to work hard on ourselves (mindsets, values, holistic wellness) as much as we do on our craft - the work of healthcare delivery or creating a race-winning Pinewood Derby car and in the same breath disconnecting from the results and relying on the One who drives those results, Allah in all that we do. 

This fosters humility while driving us to exhaust ourselves in excellence in our healthcare work and at home or even with seemingly mundane spaces such as with the Pinewood Derby project workspace. 

It also allows us to process our successes and failures through a healthy lens that every success is attributable to Allah and that every failure or challenge is by divine wisdom and is an opportunity for reflection and growth.

In our work in healthcare, we go through many cycles of ups and downs that take a toll on us and on those around us. Our mental health and specifically, our resilience and capacity to burnout-proof our healthcare careers are challenged by these cycles.

Healthy mindsets and frameworks that are divinely inspired as evident in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad PBUH are essential to keep us grounded and resilient on these very fruitful journeys. They are also central to a thriving career of healthcare service and impact.

As you work through your busy days serving others at the bedside or in some other capacity within the healthcare landscape, keep in mind the nugget that one of my mentors shared with a group of us; that “everything is a sign” and that Allah, the Most High, uniquely positions us to experience different moments for our own betterment. 

The Pinewood Derby experience was an opportunity for me to be reminded of these wisdoms. In your next patient encounter or crucial conversation with a colleague or even a family member keep this in mind and grow from one “sign” to the next.

Sincerely,

Sulyman

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