The highly acclaimed Apple TV show "Ted Lasso" first appeared in 2020 to rave reviews. Ostensibly, it is a show about a college American football coach in the Midwest who finds himself coaching a Premier League soccer team in the U.K. despite knowing little about U.K. culture, colloquialisms or the game of soccer itself.
Although written as a comedy, the show is poignant and inspiring as it provides serious lessons for life. Interestingly, these lessons can be applied broadly, and, in the case of Nevada, can be used to improve the quality of health care we deliver.
Nevada ranks at the bottom of the list of states with respect to quality, access and outcomes of health care. The reasons are multifactorial, but one factor is that there is insufficient teamwork in health care delivery.
In Ted Lasso's case, his team had some good players but until they learned to work together, they were not seeing results. As we build out academic health at both UNLV and UNR, a fundamental principle is collaboration.
Combining efforts of our five health sciences schools -- medicine, dental medicine, public health, integrative health and nursing, along with behavioral health -- we are working to provide coordinated team-based care as we approach health and wellness. Wouldn't it be fantastic to get all of your health care in one place at one time, rather than trying to coordinate multiple visits across multiple facilities in multiple locations?
To do this, we cannot accept the status quo. We have to change the way we practice for the betterment of our community. Although change can sometimes be perceived as a threat, that consideration limits progress. Having the necessary curiosity to look for different ways to do things is the key to becoming better.
The diversity of the Las Vegas Valley is one of our greatest strengths much like the diversity found on Ted Lasso's Richmond Football Club. Embracing the value of our diverse lived experiences opens the door to new ideas and solutions.
"Don't sell yourself short. If anything, sell yourself tall and get it altered later." -- Ted Lasso
As the two public medical schools in Nevada work to build a statewide academic health network, we have to dream big. We have to work to bring the best clinicians to care for our patients, the best researchers to address pressing health needs in our communities, and the best trainees to be the future caregivers in our state.
Academic health is different as the universities, UNLV and UNR, with their teaching hospitals (UMC for UNLV and Renown Health for UNR) have the resources to provide the most advanced care in a coordinated fashion. They also have the resources to study the best way to deliver the care and the best way to reduce disparities in health care to make care available and affordable for all.
A final moniker from "Ted Lasso" is "believe," the verbiage on the poster that Lasso hangs proudly and one that every teammate acknowledges daily.
Nevadans deserve the best care. They deserve access to affordable care that is coordinated. As we expand academic health across the state, we have to be deliberate and recognize that it will take hard work. Success for Nevada means we are going to take care of each other. A healthy Nevada is a win for all of us.
To quote Lasso, "Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn't it? If you are comfortable while you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong."
Dr. Marc Kahn is the dean of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine and vice president for health affairs at UNLV. Dr. Alison Netski is vice dean for clinical affairs at the school of medicine.