Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast: A Blueprint for Transformation from the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation

INTRODUCTION

The rubber-gloved phlebotomist clutches the needle in her hand. The child squirms. Everyone knows what’s about to happen.

Blood will be drawn—an experience that happens thousands of times daily. Grownups can handle it, though some better than others. But we’re guessing it probably isn’t your favorite experience either.

But for most children, it’s a crisis. It’s scary and uncomfortable. Vein search, needle probe, the jab, the blood, the whole idea of the thing. No matter how many times the child endures it, always the same experience, always the same outcome. We’re doing well if the child doesn’t tense up, cry elephant tears, faint halfway through, and pout for hours afterward.

How can well-meaning grownups be such vampires, so cruel? ...