For years, we’ve talked about the importance of hiring for fit. Many leaders believe they can teach technical skills but want to attract talent that is closely aligned with organizational values and with a strong sense of purpose. I’m a firm believer in this school of thought and am delighted to learn that the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) has embraced this thinking as well in its recent re-design of the MCAT exam.
According to an article in The New York Times on April 13, medical school candidates will not only need to demonstrate proficiency in the hard sciences and math but also in behavioral sciences and critical analysis. Read more...
I’ve said this a thousand times: trust is a fragile thing when it comes to the patient experience. I recently had some minor surgery that I’d been planning for some time. Because of my rigorous travel schedule, taking the time out for surgery is no small feat. So I had gone through all the pre-operative steps, including teaching, history, and physical, and was all set except for knowing the time of surgery. I was told that I would be contacted the day before my surgery and given the schedule. Of course, I had to have someone drive me to and from the hospital, so that meant that neither of us knew how much of our day would be required. Read more...
I really love this time of year. The lull that we have around the holidays gives me the chance to reflect on the previous year and set my sights on the great opportunities that lie in the year ahead. Plus, there’s something so refreshing about having a whole year spread out before me with nothing but possibilities! January is a time for setting goals for myself and for my business. It gives me direction and helps me stay aligned with my mission and vision (I have a personal mission and vision as well as for my business.). Read more...
I had an interesting revelation recently that I wanted to share. In my consulting work, I am frequently asked to help clients understand the patient experience behind the HCAHPS scores. One area that many organizations struggle with is cleanliness. When the cleanliness score goes down, all eyes are on housekeeping, right? Conventional wisdom suggests that, if the scores are bad, it must mean an environmental service is doing a poor job. Well, before you start harping on the housekeeping crew, you might want to take a closer look around and make sure you understand how the patient defines cleanliness. Next, you’ll want to examine some habits that are giving you a bad rap. Read more...
Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing the movie The Mighty Macs. It’s a story of a fledgling women’s college basketball team that rose to the national championship in the early 70’s at a time when the words “women” and “athletics” were rarely spoken in the same sentence. Read more...
What goes up must come down, right? This indisputable law has been regarded as a hard, fast fact for hundreds of years, but it doesn’t have to apply to your patient satisfaction scores. Just because your scores go up, doesn’t mean they have to fall again. And on the flip side, just because they go up, doesn’t mean they’ll stay up.
I was recently chatting with a client about what it takes to sustain positive change and I was shocked to realize how many leaders assume that positive changes aren’t sustainable. Read more...
In one of my recent cross-country jaunts, I did something that I rarely do—I checked a suitcase. Why is that rare for me? In my experience, checking bags equates to long waits at best and lost or damaged luggage at worst. When you add fees that are now assessed, it’s a bit comical. Read more...
None of us wants to believe that we are the roadblocks to innovation and change, yet there are so many times when I hear leaders shoot down opportunities for growth and innovation with one simple sentence. Take your pick of these most common squelchers, including: Read more...
- It won’t work!
- We tried that once back in…
- They won’t approve. (The we/they thing is always a clue to filter.)
- That will never fly here!
- You don’t understand. We’re different. (Healthcare suffers from terminal uniqueness, including one doctor’s patients being sicker than all others, one hospital having unique issues with running 24/7, and—my personal favorite—only angry patients fill out satisfaction surveys.)
I’m a big fan of ABC’s TV series, What Would You Do? The hidden camera, ethical dilemma series captures people’s reactions to various situations ranging from obnoxious disrespect to egregious behavior. I’m fascinated by what motivates people to intervene on behalf of complete strangers. Random acts of kindness and compassion reveal so much about a person’s character. The beauty of this series is that, because the camera is hidden, the champions step forward to protect, defend, and counsel the underdogs and frequently rebuke an offender without any knowledge that their actions are being recorded. After the encounters, the interveners are interviewed to learn why they stepped in. Their reasons are always the same: They just did what’s right. Read more...
The word ‘accountability’ gets tossed around a lot in leadership discussions. Everyone agrees that accountability is necessary in high-performing organizations but creating a culture of accountability is tough. I’ve seen even some of the most experienced leaders waver on this one. Read more...
