He’s loud, brash and audacious. He’s been a celebrity for decades, a well-known businessman and reality TV star. And anyone who is even remotely following the news at the moment knows he’s also dominating headlines with his presidential run. I’m going to pause here to say that I’m not going to get into the politics of anything he has said — no matter how outrageous his statements may have been. Because one thing’s for sure: Donald John Trump, at the age of 69, knows exactly how to play the media and put himself front and center stage. The public appears to respond too. He’s up on the platform for the first Republican debate; it’s guaranteed that he’ll pull in millions of viewers.
As a fan of the Apprentice and someone who has read several of his books over the years, including Think Big and Kick Ass, The Art of the Deal, and Think Like a Champion — all books I’d recommend, I simply don’t agree with anyone who says the man is just an empty façade. His books, despite sometimes going over the top, do actually contain plenty of good advice and insights into success and thinking like a winner. They also make abundantly clear that Donald Trump is a man who knows how to negotiate and will always push for the best possible deal.
This got me thinking a bit about the world of health care and all that’s happened in the last couple of decades. How much has changed for doctors, nurses and patients — and not all of it by any means to their liking. Whether we are talking about changes in health care practice, reimbursements, information technology requirements, or administrative directives and oversight — there’s a lot that has irked physicians the wrong way. For patients, advocacy groups across the nation have been pushing for issues to be addressed that will make life better for the millions of patients and their families as they tread the scary road of illness.
Everyone has their own agenda and things that are important to them. The reality of life is that when you’re putting your heart and soul into getting your point across, you’ve got to know how to be an effective negotiator and dealmaker. Come across as weak, disunited, overly flexible, or unsure about what you really want, and there’s a decent chance you will be eaten alive. (In any arena, not just in health care.)
Strong advocacy, a clear voice, and persistence are needed to secure the best deal for yourself and what you represent. That’s something that most of the frontline players in health care have consistently failed to get over the last couple of decades. And whether you love him or loathe him, making deals and getting the best out of any situation is something Donald Trump has perfected to an almost art form when it comes to himself and his brand. Indeed, perhaps if people like him were negotiating an agenda for doctors or patients, there would be more times we would be telling people who are pushing health care in the wrong direction: “You’re fired.”
Suneel Dhand is an internal medicine physician and author of Thomas Jefferson: Lessons from a Secret Buddha and High Percentage Wellness Steps: Natural, Proven, Everyday Steps to Improve Your Health & Well-being. He blogs at his self-titled site, Suneel Dhand.
Image credit: Albert H. Teich / Shutterstock.com
