Throwing Spaghetti to Find a Leadership Opportunity
LeeAnne Denny, MD
Every single faculty member with whom I work is amazing. They are very active on a national level and are leaders in family medicine advocacy, physician wellbeing, evidence-based medicine education, faculty development, collaborative practice, and service learning.
I, on the other hand, couldn’t figure out how they managed to sit on national committees and boards. So I asked my program director about it. He said you find an opportunity in which you are interested and then you apply. He said, “throw lots of spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.” (I’m so glad this is just a colorful metaphor and not an actual practice at our institution or the walls would be a vile mess given the ambition and abilities of our physicians.)
Fortuitously, shortly after having my talk with my program director, I received an email informing me that STFM was looking for people to serve on a task force to help plan for the 50th anniversary celebration. As my core values are connection, fun, and growth, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity.
So I wrenched my arm back and hurled my spaghetti as hard as I could. And it stuck right to the wall. I was so grateful when I found out that I had been accepted to join the task force, I told my program director about it right away.
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