S1 Ep 2 - Part 1 - Thinking Outside the Healthcare Box: Systems Theory Discussion with Guest Dr. Shelly Smith-Acuña

Recently, I discovered a fascinating book, Systems Theory in Action: Applications to Individual, Couples, and Family Therapy by Dr. Shelly Smith-Acuña. She is the dean of the Graduate School for Professional Psychology at the University of Denver, and is a licensed psychologist who specializes in couple and family therapy. While I was reading her book, I couldn’t help but imagine how each of these different players in the healthcare system struggle for different reasons. In this episode, I’m sending all the players of healthcare to get therapy because, let's face it, healthcare systems are really dysfunctional.

In this episode, Dr. Shelly Smith-Acuña and I discuss:

• The definition of Systems Theory, and how it relates to psychology
• The healthcare system as a family unit includes: the server (healthcare workers), the bureaucrat (administrators), the patient, the guard (insurance companies), the dealer (Big Pharma), and the judge (state medical boards).
• The seven principles of systems theory: context, causality, communication, change, structure, history, and the social cultural narratives ( first four reviewed in this episode, part 1):How context can give us a better understanding of the relationship between the parts and the whole in healthcare systems
• The nature of causality (or cause and effect), andhow we tend to blame from a linear perspective rather than consider a more shared responsibility.
• Communication: the inconsistency between message sent and message received, the intent and the impact of communication, and how communication can have various purposes like: establishing status, solving problems, creating emotional bonds
• How the healthcare system both creates and resists change

Resources

Systems Theory in Action: Applications to Individual, Couples, and Family Therapy by Dr. Shelly Smith-Acuña, 2011.

Burnout in Healthcare Workers: Prevalence, Impact and Preventative Strategies. Local and Regional Anesthesia 2020:13, pp.171-183. A graph called the job demand-control model, introduced by Karasek in 1979 focuses on the balance between the magnitude of the demands (height of strain) and the level of control (decision latitude) in a person’s work situation. This article refers to the research on burnout in the 1970s mentioned in the episode.

Read a transcript, and the full show notes for this episode on my website.

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Dr. Barbara de la Torre started Third Opinion MD as a way to spark a wave of change in the way we practice medicine, how we care for ourselves, how physicians are treated, and how we can navigate through the existing healthcare system. Information on this podcast is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional.