Over the past three weeks I have gone through quite a few changes between starting a new job, having a longer commute, traveling for conferences and transitioning to past president of the Illinois Dietetic Association. I embrace change and tend to jump right in and tackle my new adventure. Change is how we thrive and progress, however for some it can be challenging.
I am reminded of the book “Who Moved My Cheese”. At our exhibits for health professionals, ENC has started using an online survey related to the perceptions of eggs and nutrition. I was just looking at data from our most recent show and noted the question “How many whole eggs do you recommend your healthy clients eat each week?” We had almost equal responses of 1-3 or 3-5 eggs daily (total~72 %). Only a total of 23% answered 5-7 or more than 7 and some answered none. Although we have the research showing the wonderful benefits of eggs and know that an egg a day is good; we can see it is difficult for some people to shift their mindset and accept this change.
Interestingly enough, during the conversations at the AAPA conference, I picked up on the following trends, which I related to characters in the book:
Sniff
Who sniffs out change early
“I’ve always eaten eggs and knew they were good.”
Scurry
Who scurries into action
“I heard the new information and changed immediately.”
Hem
Who denies and resists change as he fears
it will lead to something worse
“I cannot tell clients to eat eggs daily because they are “bad”. It will only cause more problems.”
Haw
Who learns to adapt in time when he sees changing can lead to something better!
“I’ve been watching the research and was cautious at first, but now I am suggesting it now because (reason)”.
There was one comment that didn’t necessarily fit in a character in the book:
“I eat eggs every day, but don’t suggest it to my clients”. Hopefully they are just mirroring Haw and will soon let everyone know “It’s All In An Egg”!
We have to think about how to educate people from all levels, because change is internal and is different for everyone. Not everyone is Scurry and I think realizing this can help us educate our health professionals and clients.
