3 tips for SDS managers: Simplify, simplify, simplify
3 tips for SDS managers: Simplify, simplify, simplify
By Stephen W. Earnhart, MS
President and CEO
Earnhart and Associates
Dallas
Well, it had to happen eventually. I no longer have the ability to change the oil in my car. I couldn’t even locate the oil filter! Life is getting too complicated.
It’s time for a reality check. Let’s simplify our workplace and our thinking a bit. Please consider the following:
• Physician relations. I don’t know how many articles I’ve read explaining complicated methods for evaluating physician satisfaction in the OR. I myself used to send out questionnaires to physicians that asked for their feedback on various issues from turnaround time to staff friendliness to procedures starting on time. I gotta tell you my forms were good. They were concise, to-the-point, and usually on one or two pages max. And I got a fairly good response probably a 25% return.
After we got back the responses, we would sit down, analyze them, and search for the hidden meaning in responses. We made graphs and charts and stood around and congratulated each other on the fine presentation this was going to make at the partnership meeting next quarter. There was talk of publishing the results and, dare we imagine the lecture circuit!
It wasn’t until a short time later, when I sat down and figured out all the time spent coming up with the questions, getting them into a reasonable format, labeling them, addressing the envelopes, mailing them, getting the returns, doing an analysis the data, collating the information, and writing up the report, that I realized we had spent an average of 30 minutes for each doctor on staff at the center. And we still had not seen their face or spoken one word to them!
Now, I am sure there is a place for these forms, but think about it. If you were the physician you were trying to impress, which would you want: an impersonal form, or 10 minutes of face-to-face Q&A?
Talk to your physicians. I still believe that asking someone a question is the highest form of flattery.
• Forms. What happened? They used to be concise one- or two-page jewels with little boxes that people could check. They were simple and easy to use. Now they are multi-page, multi-part documents that require massive amounts of information and writing time. The stuff I’m seeing takes the nurse the entire case to fill out! Is this progress? Someone has entirely too much time on their hands.
• Turnaround time. Are we becoming a little bit too obsessed with it? Clearly 45 minutes is too long between cases, but maybe some people take it too far. The optimal turnaround time in any center is the amount of time it takes to safely move that surgeon’s cases for the day.
Some surgeons want an eight-minute turnaround, and others would rather spend time with the patient’s family, make a call or two, or just sit for a few minutes and have a cup of coffee without someone calling them to say their next case is on the table. It is the job of the nurse manager to gauge the physician and to plan the day according to that individual’s needs. Ask the surgeon his or her preference at the beginning of the day.
• Profits. Where have all the profits gone? I don’t care if you are for-profit or not-for-profit, you still need a healthy bottom line. I’m seeing surgery centers out there doing 4,000 cases per year with only a 22% profit margin!
Stop blaming managed care, and start looking at your cost. Someone is getting fat.
• Meetings. I still get the "I can’t get an appointment to meet with the doctor" complaint from nurses. Could it be that the doctor has nothing to say? Cancel all meetings unless they have to do with physician relations, patient safety, quality of care, or profits. There are just too many meetings. Hospitals are the biggest offenders, but at least they usually serve food.
Rule of thumb: Unless you can walk away from a meeting with at least one tangible thing that you can use that day, chances are that meeting was a waste of your time.
Keep smiling.
(Editor’s note: To provide feedback about this column or suggest ideas, contact Stephen W. Earnhart at 5905 Tree Shadow Place, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75252. E-mail: [email protected]. World Wide Web: http://rampages.onramp.net/~surgery.)
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.