Growing up in a family where boxing was a rooted tradition among uncles and cousins; I would often hear the saying; “one more round.” In fact, I received my first and only black-eye sparing with a cousin. However, I never understood the full scope of that saying (one more round) until I started to compete in high school and college athletics. “One more round” is truly a mindset. When adversity seems to be at its’ peak and things don’t seem to go your way-the idea of “one more round”-may give you the incentive to keep going. Sometimes we will experience the sweet taste of victory and sometimes we will inevitably feel the pain of defeat. Nonetheless, regardless of victory or defeat, the ability to have a short-term memory will help us get back into the ring for another round.

While interacting with UTMC staff and volunteers during my daily rounds, I can’t help but think of the quality people we have on our team. Part of what I do during the balance of my day is talk with patients prior to their discharge and the feedback I receive validates my opinion. Now, I completely understand that we as a UTMC team have a lot of wrinkles to iron out, but the performance of so many needs to be noted. Very often during my conversations with patients, I will hear words such as kindness and caring as patients describe the care that they received from our nursing and medical staff. So, I want to take the time to thank you for all that you do. Know that you truly are making a difference in the lives of our patients!

When things seem to get really difficult and the naysayers begin to influence perceptions; keep in mind; “one more round.” We truly have a lot of good people who believe in UTMC and who are executing the game plan on a daily basis. You are going to take some punches and sometimes circumstances will have you against the ropes; but keep punching to fight “one more round.” What you continuously believe will ultimately be the deciding factor in whether you win or lose.

Tony Urbina is the Acting Director in the Office for the Student Experience. Although he is graduate of Bowling Green State University, he completed his graduate work with the blue and gold. Tony is very passionate about life and believes in the value of those we serve and work with. As General Schwarzkopf once said; “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” When we decide to put people first; we ultimately enrich our own lives.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 7th, 2010 at 11:40 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
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