What compels leaders to lead and command us to follow? What in their souls drives them to positions of leadership? Is it power? Might it be issues of control? Is it a need to have attention? What qualities must a leader possess to be considered great? What role does perfection play in a leader's character? And most importantly, what price does a leader pay to have that role?

Because I work with women afflicted with infertility, my patients are either elated when their pregnancy tests become positive or disappointed when their menstrual flows begin. As time progressed, I questioned what I was really providing as a reproductive endocrinologist. If my product was a pregnancy and ultimately a baby, then what was I providing to those who test negative?

Two years ago, I had a fall off a stepladder, which resulted in an emergency orthopedic procedure. After I was discharged and at home for two days, I was quite winded taking only 16 steps with the walker.
My wife asked a colleague friend to check on me. Upon listening to my lungs and watching me breathe, he said to her, "Get him to the hospital right now!"

Could it be that we physicians have heard it all? Our voice was described as "blah, blah, blah" and a "pox" was wished upon us! Read on to learn how such strong words came about.

I have read many medical school applicants' personal statements, but have yet to find one that said, "I want to be a doctor so I can become wealthy." Most applicants recount experiences that illustrate why they want to become caring, giving, service-oriented physicians. Their idealism and altruism are catching as they describe their passion to help people.

Not engaging in self-obsolescence results in inertia and resistance to change. "This is how we have always done it around here." "It has always worked before, so why change now?" These arguments are enhanced because of the strong bottom line. Yet the wise leader will push onward to reward change advocates and cherish the innovative minds that challenge the status quo.

I am thankful for and humbled by what women have taught me about personal and professional relationships. This includes cultivating an ability to remain objective in a crisis while still connecting personally to add meaning to the healthcare experience, regardless of the outcome.

Upon completion of my residency in obstetrics/gynecology, my parents sent me a small bronze statute of a mountain ram. They proudly declared that I had reached the pinnacle of my educational career in medicine and was now on top.

As physicians, how we address death is influenced by our own personal growth and view of life itself.

Andy Oppenberg, MPH, director of risk management at Glendale Memorial Hospital & Health Center, and I recently presented a paper at the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management Conference.

Doctors who have served in a missionary capacity in developing countries consider their experiences life changing. Similarly, doctors who have become patients in their own hospitals also find the experiences eye opening.

Years ago, before planning for leasehold improvements in my new practice space, I remember sitting in what was to become the reception room, contemplating what I would want to see, hear and experience if I were a patient. It needed to be a zone of comfort for reflection, relaxation and rest. What came to mind was an environment of healing that was warm, inviting and even safe.

In response to the old adage "work smarter, not harder, Tom Whitley writes in NetworkWorldFusion: "Trying to 'work smart, not hard' is extremely dangerous. Change the 'not' to 'and,' and you have a priceless gem of truth."