We were sitting around the room, and they were silently thinking: “How are we going to get rid of him?” And they were thinking of me.
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iStockphoto.com/Toltek
Some avoided eye contact. Some smiled vacantly. Others shook their heads affirmatively in a tolerant manner.
I was decisive and divisive and though I spoke of the big picture, I was self-interested. And if I didn’t change my approach, my power would wane and my position of leadership would be endangered.
I needed to pause and ask myself two questions:
Read How to Wield Physician Power →
The surgeon and I sat at the table.
“The nurses said you were yelling,” I explained.
“I never yell; you can ask anyone,” she coldly remarked with fierce eyes as she pounded the table to punctuate each <bang> word <bang>.
She was right: She didn’t raise her voice. However, her piercing glare and table thumping would rattle all but the most modulated professional.
Read on →
I am certain that we can measure the efficiency of a healthcare system using Fitbit.
While reading my Twitter feed yesterday, I noticed healthcare leaders Tweeting about their Fitbit scores and the number of steps they’ve taken while at the HIMSS Conference (see footnote). Conferences and airports are prime for high Fitbit scores as you wander from room to room, lecture to lecture, gate to gate.
Read About Fitbit Medicine →
Each of us carries a long list of tasks that we need to get done. Things at work and things at home, hobbies and chores, alone and with others, on the phone and online. A mishmash that fills our brains and keeps us thinking about remembering, remembering not to forget.
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David Allen, the guru of Getting Things Done, says that the average executive has a list of 250 next actions on her to-do list. I tend to forget things if I don’t have a system. I’m very comfortable with vision, less comfortable with detail, and I have found that technology can palliate my task-oriented stumbling. There are three things that I rely on to keep order, to provide a structure for success with tasks.
Read about how to get things done →
“I blame the government. I blame insurance companies. I blame the hospital. I blame the patient.”
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You know that physician. He is the victim of a thousand enemies. Each enemy is dumber but more powerful than he. If only he were in charge, things would be different.
Yet he won’t be in charge. He blames others for his problems, which prevents him from getting what he wants. He will never get it done. He may want something; however, there is a big difference between wanting something, and him working his butt off to get it.
Stay away from that physician. Reasoning with him will get you nowhere. Don’t give him your time.
Read about who to focus on →
“First, let’s make sure that you have a heart and lungs.”
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That’s a joke I use in the emergency department when I ask patients to sit forward so I can listen to their chest with my stethoscope.
If the patient laughs, I know one of the following is true:
- They have a sense of humor.
- They have dementia.
- They thought I said something else.
- I make them uncomfortable.
In any case, the response yields useful information.
Read how to stay alive →
I speak English. I also speak broken emergency department Spanish.
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I can request of a Spanish-speaking patient, “Siéntese, por favor.”
This respectfully means, “Please sit.”
Or I can implore, “No empuje! Por favor!”
This loosely translates to, “Don’t push! Please have your baby upstairs in the obstetrics unit!”
Read about physician MBAs →
Some of the biggest mistakes I have made as a physician leader occurred when I heard one side of a story and took action.
An incident report arrives. A nurse stops me in the hall. A physician calls me or an administrator emails me. My suspicions about the individual in question have been confirmed.
And I pounce.
Read about my mistake →
There are moments when I am a great physician for my patients. We laugh. We connect. We work together through health issues. We get to the answers.
During these moments I adroitly pivot projected worries, fears, and helplessness towards empowerment, positivity and purpose. I inspire.
There are days when I do not connect with my patients. I evoke subtle anger, and worries, and fear. I am disconnected. Sometimes I am aware of this. Often I am not.
And life goes on.
Read about coaching in medicine →
You own a physician group.
The line in your waiting room goes out the door. Appointments are delayed. Reimbursement is decreasing. Regulations are increasing.
You’re having a hard time making enough money to maintain business operations.
People are mad.
What do you do?
Read about the 3 levers →
