Editor’s Page: Stepping In and Stepping Up

A few months ago, after a very long day, I closed my laptop following a late evening Teams call with my then-boss Dan Cook, and said to my wife, “I don’t know how that guy pulls this off each month.”

My wife and I then proceeded to embark on our favorite form of post-work self-care: Ordering Chinese food from Golden Key and binge-watching “Schitt’s Creek” until we reached a plane of consciousness only possible through heroic amounts of lo mein and Eugene Levy zingers.

Normally, it’s the stress of my wife’s job that leads to this tried-and-true regimen, which is understandable. She’s a burn unit nurse at a busy Philadelphia hospital. On this particular night, however, it was the stress of my job that drove us to takeout and television — and I wasn’t even the one in the driver’s seat. 

A lot has happened since then. Our highly anticipated OR Excellence conference, an in-person event that was twice derailed by COVID, was cancelled mere days before kickoff due to Hurricane Ian; against all odds, my hometown Philadelphia Phillies, a team that underwent major midseason management changes, willed themselves into the World Series; and the best boss I’ve ever worked for has pursued another career opportunity — and I’m stepping in to take his place.

My name is Jared Bilski, and I’m the new interim Editor-in-Chief of this fantastic magazine. I stand by what I said after the Teams call about “that guy pulling this off,” but I’m also excited and grateful for this opportunity. It’s a great job and a fulfilling one, but it’s also a very demanding and challenging one. 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified at the prospect of filling Mr. Cook’s (virtual) chair initially. I felt a bit like I did after my first child was born. Even with the months of preparation my wife and I had put in (and the enlightening breastfeeding class that saw my wife getting scolded by the instructor for having a laughing fit during a graphic pumping video), the moment I walked out of that hospital in the frigid January air holding my newborn daughter, my first thought was, “What the heck are we supposed to do now?” 

Despite the natural nervousness that precedes any major change, I’m fully prepared to step up and continue bringing you the practical and actionable information you’ve come to depend on from Outpatient Surgery Magazine. 

Besides, I feel like this experience will help me relate to readers on a whole new level. Since I started working here, so many of you have told me about how you suddenly and unexpectedly found yourself thrust into a leadership role after years of in-the-trenches work in the OR — and thrived in the process. 

I’ve called on you to share your stories, advice and practical tips, and you’ve never disappointed. I think the greatest strength of this magazine is the ability of our talented editorial team (Danielle, Joe and Adam) to take the stories you tell us from inside the OR and present them in the most digestible format — all the meat, none of the fat. You are the most important part of this magazine’s success, so I’m doubling down on my outreach efforts and asking you to be ready when I call. Better yet, feel free to reach out directly with all your best turnover time tips, efficiency hacks and patient satisfaction secrets. 

I want to hear about anything you and your staff do to save time or money, improve care or reduce the headaches that are an inescapable part of running an outpatient facility. You can email me at [email protected] anytime. In fact, the entire editorial team’s email addresses are listed on page four of every issue, and they all share the same open-door communication policy. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Chinese food to order and some “Schitt’s Creek” to watch. I want to clear my head before settling in for my first deadline in this new role. OSM