The Daily Adventures of Surgical Leadership
It is the industry’s dirty little secret: Nurses aren’t always nice to each other. In an environment where teamwork and trust are key for patient safety, this unfriendliness should never be tolerated. But it happens. I have always struggled with the cultural issue in our…
Some days, it’s easy to forget why we are “here”. Working in surgery can be quite challenging. Being in charge can be even more challenging. Have you ever taken a mental inventory of your career choices that brought you to where you are? I know…
Risk management can be challenging. We know that we are responsible for “managing risk”, but what does that really mean? In practical terms, we support a culture of safety to reduce risk as it relates to our daily operations. If you think about it, so…
I once had an employer ask me to attend an out of state conference. When I initially heard about the conference, I was interested in the content and locale, and was looking forward to it. Then, I heard that the same employer had wanted about…
Being in a leadership position is, for lack of a better word-challenging. But, no offense to those non-surgical leaders, who may start their day at say, some late hour like 8:30, and then maybe actually go to a restaurant for lunch, or grab a call…
I don’t know about you, but I hate that we are already being bombarded with holiday stuff. I just put my bathing suit away, realize that I am not in love with my winter wardrobe (I blame my wardrobe woes on too many years in…
I know that writing Quality Studies can be challenging. What do we study? How do we study? How do I get it into the format I need to meet accreditation? I’ve had to write many a study and have helped others as well. I’ve seen…
I had a recent shower plumbing problem that was causing bathroom sharing woes in my household. I decided to hire a handyman who had done work for me in the past. I trusted he would do a great job as at a reasonable price. I…
I have the privilege of assisting surgical facilities prepare for surveys. I have seen countless wonderful, clean, well prepared centers where I would feel confident in having surgery or taking a loved one for surgery. Even in the most pristine facilities, there is sometimes an…
We’ve all been there. We work hard to do everything right for our patients to ensure their safety, provide care in an efficient and timely manner and leave them with a positive impression. When we get their satisfaction survey back, we learn that they felt…