We recently connected with Clarke Holmes and have shared our conversation below.
Clarke, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Like many others, I believe my work ethic is derived from a combination of factors. It is innate, acquired and a product of my environment. Academics and athletics were likely my driving forces beginning at a young age. I can recall when I was as young as fifth grade, frequently setting an alarm for 5:30 a.m. to wake up and study to be prepared for a test or assignment. Getting a mediocre grade because of a lack of preparation was not part of the equation for me.
Athletically, I focused on one sport in high school and that was baseball. I played for a program where a state championship was the goal every year and became quite commonplace. There’s was a lot of year-round demand on our players and that seemed to fit my personality well. By the time I got to college and then medical school, hard work was just the norm. Without this work ethic, mediocrity or failure could predominate, and I had no tolerance for those possibilities.
In my recent adult years, I’ve spent some time studying the Enneagram, and I’ve learned that I am a type one, the “perfectionist.” A strong work ethic and a self-imposed demand for accuracy are commonly seen in these personality types. Now, being transparent, although a strong work ethic can an admirable character trait and can certainly lead to success, it can have its pitfalls. So, I am continually teaching myself, my children and anyone else willing to listen that having a strong work ethic doesn’t mean that work has to dominate your life. Being a perfectionist doesn’t mean you’ll ever achieve perfection. We all have flaws and make errors. We have to admit those mistakes, learn from them and give ourselves grace. A strong work ethic should not impair your ability to have healthy relationships, to seek personal growth or enjoy activities that may not qualify as “work.“
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As a Sports Medicine Physician, I get the opportunity to interact with 20 to 30 patients every day. Every one of them is either in pain, has dysfunction and/or is injured. They all have similar goals: to feel better, overcome a problem and get back to doing the things they like to do with a greater quality of life. Fortunately, I treat almost all ages, commonly seeing patients from age 10 to 95. As you can imagine, these patients are at different stages of life and have a huge variety of personalities.
The greatest part of my job is developing relationships that come along with my medical practice. I’d like to call my practice a “family orthopedic practice.” I often treat multiple generations within one family, treating grandparents along with parents and their children.
Professionally, the orthopedic world is ever evolving. We are finding more efficient ways to get patients accurate diagnoses and help them overcome their conditions with less invasive and more natural treatments. For example, I have used musculoskeletal ultrasound every day in my practice for the past 13 years. This gives us a wealth of information in a very time and cost-efficient manner. Not many physicians have this skill set as it requires years of diligent study to create the expertise.
The expertise in ultrasound has opened the door for me to provide numerous types of injections to patients that can have positive effects of reducing pain and swelling, but also promoting a healing response and stopping or slowing the deterioration within a joint or soft tissue structure. Specifically, we use a patient’s own blood called platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, to achieve these goals. This also is an area of expertise I have cultivated over the past decade. Using PRP has become much more common in the orthopedic setting, but not all PRP is created equal. There is no substitute for experience and expertise when providing this type of treatment.
Finally, we medical providers have to remember that we are treating human beings not just diagnoses or body parts. I want to make sure that this message gets reflected in the care of each of my patients.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Honesty: there is no relationship, field of study or career path where honesty does not apply. Even if honesty results in a lower grade, not winning an award or getting passed over for a promotion, then it is still the right choice. Great opportunities and rewards will come to those who demonstrate consistent honesty, both with themselves and others.
Work Ethic: a strong work ethic is a sign of a caring spirit, an attention to detail, a desire to produce a successful outcome and a fulfillment of a calling. I believe that we are called to work, and to fulfill that obligation, then a strong effort must accompany that work calling.
Know Yourself: take some time to learn who you are. Why do you think and behave the way you do? We are all products of our upbringing, for better or for worse. Realize that you are created very uniquely and are not called to be just like others around you. Self-study, prayer, meditation, counseling and creating close relationships of depth and transparency can all help you learn who you are. Also, realize that this is a lifelong process.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
Nearly 10 years ago, I really dug into the book, “The Voice of the Heart: A Call to Full Living” by Chip Dodd. Chip is a Nashville-area resident and masterfully describes the 8 primary emotions we all experience. HIs relatively simple but important concepts really made an impact on me and helped me to name the emotion I was feeling in the moment. I’ve learned how these emotions shape how I run through my day, make decisions and interact with others. I’ve realized that one can be on the “healthy” and “unhealthy” sides of these emotions. It’s a great read for anyone trying to better understand themselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.impactsportsnashville.com
- Instagram: @impactsportsmedicine
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/impactsportsnashville/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/clarke-holmes-8b76b053/
