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Baptist leader shares story of ‘Endurance’

A special lunch and lecture marked the unveiling of the Graduate Medical Education department at Baptist Memorial Hospital - North Mississippi on Thursday, June 24. Dr. Paul DePriest, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation,
delivered an address that reviewed attributes of outstanding leaders. The presentation centered around the story of a trans-Antarctic expedition led by explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, during which he and his 28-person crew were left stranded when their ship, Endurance, became trapped and eventually crushed by ice. Against impossible odds, all the men survived the ordeal that lasted nearly two years.

Key principles Dr. DePriest drew from Shackleton’s ability to successfully lead the group in the face of certain death included:

• Communicate Clearly, and Frequently the Mission,
  Vision, and Goals of Our Work
• Our Emotions and State-of-Mind are Infectious!
  
• When Things Seem Impossible Great Leaders Calmly Persevere
• Leading by Example and Treating All Equally, Sustains and Encourages Teamwork
• Create a Plan, an Alternative Plan, and an Alternative-to-the-Alternative Plan
• Lead with a Mission-Minded Humility and Compassion
• Be Prepared to Make the Tough Decisions
• Know Your People
  
  This inspiring message resonated with the gathering of physicians, hospital administrators, and other personnel and related to challenges faced in modern health care. Many of these lessons can be carried forward as these professionals embark on the new venture of a medical residency program at BMH-NM.