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How can gratitude guide health care professionals in navigating political uncertainty, misinformation, and the challenges of post-election transitions? Join us as Janet A. Jokela, an infectious disease physician and Treasurer of the American College of Physicians, explores how genuine gratitude fosters resilience, strengthens advocacy, and deepens professional connections. Learn how evidence-based policies and shared values can help us support our patients, communities, and each other during uncertain times.
Janet A. Jokela, MD, MPH, ACP’s Treasurer 2022-2025, served as the Regional Dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine-Urbana, and currently serves as Professor and Senior Associate Dean of Engagement at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Urbana, IL.
She discusses the KevinMD article, “The answer is gratitude and it puts you in a good place.”
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Transcript
Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show. Subscribe at KevinMD.com/podcast. Today, we welcome back Janet Jokela. She’s an infectious disease physician, and she’s the treasurer of the American College of Physicians. Today’s KevinMD article is “The Answer Is Gratitude, and It Puts You in a Good Place.” Janet, welcome back to the show.
Janet Jokela: Thank you so much, Kevin. Delighted to see you.
Kevin Pho: All right, so tell us what your latest article is about.
Janet Jokela: I started thinking about this in the aftermath of the election, and it’s like, how do we navigate this as physicians committed to our patients and what’s in our patients’ best interest? So what do we do here? There were a number of dizzying cabinet appointments announced, as we know, and the question is, how do we respond to this, and what do we do? I started digging deep on this and thinking more about gratitude as well, because of the holidays and it’s that time of year, and gratitude is a good thing to think about no matter what time of year it is. I realized that was the way forward: to really focus on real gratitude and on things that matter to me—colleagues, everybody—to figure out how we navigate the current situation.
Kevin Pho: For those physicians where the election did not go the way they wanted, from the conversations you’ve had, how does that affect them professionally? How does it affect them in the exam room, where they needed a solution to move forward?
Janet Jokela: I think in general, for people who are disappointed in the election—and of course, as we know, not everybody was—there was certainly a feeling of being stunned and surprised, and like, how could this have happened, and also anxiety in terms of what’s going to happen next. Given that, when faced with patients in the exam room, as you well know, we have to focus on the patient in front of us, on what their needs are, and how best to respond to them. In many ways, I think it’s critical for us, as much as we can, to put those things aside—whatever our personal reactions were—and focus on what’s best for the patient and how we can support that patient and address whatever it is they need. Easier said than done, but I think that’s what really needed to happen and what many people have done.
Kevin Pho: As you were going through that thought process, tell me about the path that eventually led you to gratitude.
Janet Jokela: Thinking about it, and thinking about how gratitude is an important concept, if you will, or an important practice, no matter what we’re faced with, I realized it was also important here. There was a recent Wall Street Journal article talking about kind of “fake gratitude,” and that’s not what I was getting at.
Kevin Pho: What is fake gratitude?
Janet Jokela: In the Wall Street Journal article that I reference, it’s almost like it’s anti-gratitude, or sort of a rebellious approach to gratitude: “I don’t want to feel gratitude, I’m angry about blah, blah, blah,” embracing one’s resentment or one’s anger. That’s as opposed to trying to force false gratitude—being grateful even though we may not really feel that way. I don’t want to go down that path. My path was, where can we really find gratitude in the circumstances in which we find ourselves now? I realized that if you step back and think about it, there are a few things that I landed on. One was the ACP policies—the American College of Physicians policies—which are fabulous and ground us in those ACP values, the values espoused by our professional organization and also by our colleagues. We can work with them to figure out ways forward. That seemed to work. I also thought gratitude helps with mental health and how we flourish. Gratitude is a good place to be, but it’s also a place I realized where fear dissipates and anxiety dissipates, and things become clearer in terms of the next steps. So those are the reasons I came to gratitude in this post-election situation.
Kevin Pho: So today, despite all the challenges that physicians face, and if you’re disappointed with the outcome of the election, what do we as physicians have to feel thankful for?
Janet Jokela: Oh my goodness—actually, a lot. It’s easy to look at the cup as being half empty, but it’s equally easy—though maybe it doesn’t come naturally to many of us—to look at the cup being half full. For instance, with these ACP policies, we realize the ACP has a ton of policies on a myriad of different issues our patients face day in and day out. They’re evidence-based, they’re based in science and sound research, and the ACP’s policy staff is awesome. They work so hard with the ACP leadership and committees to develop these policies, which speak to the issues when the occasion arises, and they also ground all of ACP’s advocacy efforts in whatever situations arise. I found that in many ways just very comforting and reassuring.
Kevin Pho: Any specific policies that come to mind, an example in terms of moving the needle to better the professional lives of physicians and the care we give for patients?
Janet Jokela: Again, Kevin, how much time do you have? There are so many policies. There is a statement recently issued by our president of the ACP, Dr. Ryan Mire, that underscores the importance of vaccines and the public health infrastructure. The ACP, within the past year or so, published an updated policy paper on modernizing the U.S. public health infrastructure. Who knew that the ACP has a policy on that? It’s there, and it lists very specific actions that could be taken to modernize public health. By having policies like that, the ACP and others can speak out in support of such positions when needed. There’s a ton of policies, but that’s one that’s quite pertinent today.
Kevin Pho: Now with the incoming administration, of course there will be changes to the heads of all the public health services in our country. Tell us how the ACP’s advocacy is going to be changed with this new administration.
Janet Jokela: That’s a really good question. My sense is, the ACP is nonpartisan and works with congressional leaders on all sides of the aisle. Some positions a particular individual takes may align with the ACP, while others may not. In many ways, it’s a little like walking a fine line to stick to our policies, support our policies, and work with the new administration and whoever’s in leadership to try to further these policies, which ultimately help our patients and our colleagues.
Kevin Pho: Now, even within the ACP, there’s going to be some political disagreement. Take us into one of these policy sessions. What’s it like when people within the ACP or within the membership often have debates from one side of the political aisle versus another?
Janet Jokela: That’s a really good question too. You’re absolutely right—the ACP has a membership of over 160,000 members, so of course not everybody thinks alike on these policies or on various issues. So how is policy created? It bubbles up through the ACP chapters in every state across the country, plus other international chapters. They vet it within the Board of Governors and debate it, and when the new policies are approved at that point, they come to the Board of Regents for implementation. The ACP policy staff has been involved throughout, doing a very careful vetting of the current evidence to support one position or another. It’s a very deliberate, thoughtful process that incorporates multiple viewpoints and also the evidence. If the evidence isn’t there, the paper doesn’t get written or those points don’t get included. It’s a very careful, thoughtful process. And I guess that’s another thing I’m grateful for—the process.
Kevin Pho: That’s right, because evidence shouldn’t be partisan, right?
Janet Jokela: Exactly, exactly. And when you drill down to gratitude, my goodness, we can be really grateful for that. That’s a good thing.
Kevin Pho: Take us through an example where gratitude helped you through a time of professional challenge, and it doesn’t have to be political. Give us an example of a difficult time you had, or perhaps a colleague had, where gratitude really helped you or that colleague through.
Janet Jokela: Good question. I’ll share a personal story. I had a breast cancer diagnosis within the past handful of years, and gratitude was really important in that space. It was interesting to go through, certainly as a physician, and then suddenly flipping and being the patient, getting poked, getting chemo, all of that. You realize there’s a lot to be really grateful for. The American Cancer Society had a handbook for patients, and on the last page there’s a list of things to be grateful for, like “I’m grateful to get up in the morning and feel the cold floor under my feet because that means I’m alive,” or “I’m grateful to be receiving chemotherapy because that means I didn’t die suddenly of a heart attack.” It really highlighted how many ways we can look for gratitude, no matter our circumstances. That was powerful.
Kevin Pho: Talk about the gratitude that you have toward patients and how that strengthens your relationship with them.
Janet Jokela: Sure. Listen, I love patients. I’ve always loved my patients. We learn so much from them. Our colleagues challenge us, but our patients challenge us too and make us better people. They fundamentally make us better. We’re challenged to think outside our box. I can share a short story of an HIV patient I cared for. He was very sick, and he knew he was sick. Anyway, he drove himself to our local VA hospital very late at night or early in the morning because he knew I’d be there in the morning and wanted to be where I could take care of him. Long story short, very sad, but he passed away in the middle of the night before I could see him. I missed him, and to hear that he drove 40 miles from his home to that hospital so he could potentially be with me just brings tears to your eyes. It was incredibly touching. I was deeply grateful to know him. He was someone who struggled with day-to-day life circumstances, but to know that he made that effort was something I was so grateful for.
Kevin Pho: We’re talking to Janet Jokela. She’s the treasurer of the American College of Physicians and an infectious disease physician. Today’s KevinMD article is “The Answer Is Gratitude, and It Puts You in a Good Place.” Janet, as always, we’ll end with some take-home messages you want to share with the KevinMD audience.
Janet Jokela: Sure. Thank you, Kevin. I’m grateful for you. I’m grateful for my colleagues—whether they’re close by or on social media, wherever they are. I think our colleagues make us better and challenge us. I’m grateful for evidence-based policies that can help point us in the right direction when challenging or controversial issues arise, and that show us where to go. Thank you so much.
Kevin Pho: Janet, as always, thanks again for sharing your perspective and insight, and thanks again for coming back on the show.
Janet Jokela: Thank you so much, Kevin. Happy holidays.
