May 30 Is National Creativity Day

"There is only one real happiness in life and that is the happiness of creating." – Frederick Delius, 20th century English composer

So May 30 is National Creativity Day. How does that inform or influence our work as providers of health care?

In fact, we all demonstrate creativity in our daily work here – through problem solving, developing new workflows, error prevention, accuracy and adjusting to meet the unique needs of each patient. Whether we work in the café, at the bedside or at a desktop computer, we exercise our creativity every day. You might be surprised to hear a tech guy talking about creativity.

I fell in love with music in my teens. Nirvana was my generation's The Beatles, and at thirteen, this love for punk rock music developed into a passion that eventually drove me to learn to play the bass guitar and create music. Over the years, I have been fortunate to play bass in bands with incredibly talented and creative people.

It is often hard for friends and colleagues to reconcile the two aspects I am most passionate about: Information Technology in health care and creating music with the band. Whether I am playing a show with my friends or implementing IT solutions for our patients, clinicians and staff, I am alongside people who share a common passion for what we are doing. At EvergreenHealth, the commitment of our staff to our mission of providing high-quality, safe, compassionate and cost-effective health care mirrors the passion I share with my bandmates in our creative musical pursuits.

I am using the same skills and muscles when our Information Technology team works to solve health care problems as when I am writing a bass part for a song. The creative process is not one of inspiration and magic but comes from hard work, trial and error, and collaboration. Creativity happens through the combination of a deep passion for a particular problem or song and a lot of hard work. The process feels the same to me. As one of the greatest bass players, Paul McCartney, said, "I think the main thing with songwriting is the discipline of actually doing it, not just thinking about it or dreaming about it. It's sitting down and getting it done, putting the time in, and not waiting for inspiration to strike." Ultimately, this pursuit of creativity in music and work has given me a deep sense of purpose and joy in life.

According to an article published in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Library of Medicine, being creative enhances our well-being. In fact, there is a reciprocal relationship: a state of well-being promotes creativity. Either way, if you put the words "creative" and "well-being" into one sentence, then I'm all in. Thanks for joining me today in celebration of National Creativity Day.

With his wife, Claire Tucker, Jack is co-founder of the Seattle band Loose Wing, whose music has been reviewed by Rolling Stone magazine:

"There's a thinking-it-all-over feeling that calls up 'Angel of the Morning' by Merilee Rush and the Turnabouts — another Seattle band, from 50 years ago. They walked the same streets, and maybe some of the same dirt rubbed off." – Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone, writing about Loose Wing