Although recruiting a team of physicians is an important task for any GI-driven ASC, it is equally as important to build a support team and administrative team along with a strong core of GI physicians to assist in the clinical and operational processes of the facility.
Philip Grossman, MD, CEO, medical director and chairman of the board at Kendall Endoscopy and Surgery Center in Miami, says the surgery center works diligently to foster a culture of humility and teamwork, as it is ultimately one of the most essential components contributing to the successes of the facility.
"I work hard to remind physicians they have to leave their egos at the door," he says. "Not that they shouldn't be proud of being physicians and what they've accomplished, but at the end of the day the people that surround them help make our achievements and successes possible. I can assure you that 15 very talented physicians with unhappy nurses is an organization bound to fail."
Here are five practical tips to better integrate and build a cohesive team of physicians and staff.
1. Engage the physicians in the staff hiring process. Freida Toler, administrator at Amarillo (Texas) Endoscopy Center, says obtaining input from all the physicians about candidates for staff positions is key to ensuring the collective team remains one unit.
"The physicians here have 100 percent input as to who gets hired and who doesn't," Ms. Toler says. "I interview the candidates along with my charge nurse and introduce them to everyone else in the facility. At the end of a 90-day probationary period, we get feedback from every single physician and other staff about how the new applicant [performed] in the surgery center."
2. Create social opportunities for physicians and staff. Holding social events for physicians, staff members and their families provides them an opportunity to get to know each other outside of the work arena, which develops more meaningful relationships amongst them.
"Every year, we hold a nice holiday party where we invite the entire staff and their spouse or significant other," Dr. Grossman says. "Some of the employees have commented to me that not only do they appreciate the party, the food and the music, but also the fact that the physician partners and their spouses gave up an evening to be with them. It gives everyone a chance to find out what their peers are like as people."
3. Break up cliques. Although a typical ASC may charge one staff member to do one set of tasks in one area of the facility, Ms. Toler suggests cross-training employees and moving them through different departments in order to break down walls between physicians and employees.
"Periodically staff members move through different areas of the ASC they haven't been in for a while to maintain competency in all areas as well as to ensure they aren't working with the same people all the time," she says. "Surgical teams tend to form cliques, so we try to make sure everyone gets a chance to work with different people."
4. Elect liaisons who improve communication amongst physicians and staff. Dr. Grossman installed two new administrative positions to encourage physicians and the staff to open all channels of communication. In creating a director of clinical services and a director of business services, physicians and staff alike have administrative liaisons to whom they can relay problems to and work with to settle on a resolution.
"There are a couple ways my directors help keep this team together," he says. "First, in a way it puts people who speak the same language together. If a medical staff member needs to talk to someone about clinical issues, there's a clinical director. If they have a non-clinical issues related to the operation of the center, they had a business director. That way, they've changed their approach to problem solving and come to a resolution together. The value of open communication across both spectrums cannot be stressed enough."
5. Create an open-door policy. In addition to encouraging better communication among physicians and staff, Dr. Grossman stresses the importance of installing an open-door policy at the administrative level.
"The staff and physicians know there is an open-door policy," he says. "They know that if something needs to get to me, it'll get to me, whether it be a concern about another coworker or a director. I do not tolerate abuse in either direction. If a nurse or staff person is abusive to a physician, they are taken to task and vice versa. It's a culture that starts at the top that says this is an organization of respect and of high quality care."
Learn more about Amarillo Endoscopy Center.
Philip Grossman, MD, CEO, medical director and chairman of the board at Kendall Endoscopy and Surgery Center in Miami, says the surgery center works diligently to foster a culture of humility and teamwork, as it is ultimately one of the most essential components contributing to the successes of the facility.
"I work hard to remind physicians they have to leave their egos at the door," he says. "Not that they shouldn't be proud of being physicians and what they've accomplished, but at the end of the day the people that surround them help make our achievements and successes possible. I can assure you that 15 very talented physicians with unhappy nurses is an organization bound to fail."
Here are five practical tips to better integrate and build a cohesive team of physicians and staff.
1. Engage the physicians in the staff hiring process. Freida Toler, administrator at Amarillo (Texas) Endoscopy Center, says obtaining input from all the physicians about candidates for staff positions is key to ensuring the collective team remains one unit.
"The physicians here have 100 percent input as to who gets hired and who doesn't," Ms. Toler says. "I interview the candidates along with my charge nurse and introduce them to everyone else in the facility. At the end of a 90-day probationary period, we get feedback from every single physician and other staff about how the new applicant [performed] in the surgery center."
2. Create social opportunities for physicians and staff. Holding social events for physicians, staff members and their families provides them an opportunity to get to know each other outside of the work arena, which develops more meaningful relationships amongst them.
"Every year, we hold a nice holiday party where we invite the entire staff and their spouse or significant other," Dr. Grossman says. "Some of the employees have commented to me that not only do they appreciate the party, the food and the music, but also the fact that the physician partners and their spouses gave up an evening to be with them. It gives everyone a chance to find out what their peers are like as people."
3. Break up cliques. Although a typical ASC may charge one staff member to do one set of tasks in one area of the facility, Ms. Toler suggests cross-training employees and moving them through different departments in order to break down walls between physicians and employees.
"Periodically staff members move through different areas of the ASC they haven't been in for a while to maintain competency in all areas as well as to ensure they aren't working with the same people all the time," she says. "Surgical teams tend to form cliques, so we try to make sure everyone gets a chance to work with different people."
4. Elect liaisons who improve communication amongst physicians and staff. Dr. Grossman installed two new administrative positions to encourage physicians and the staff to open all channels of communication. In creating a director of clinical services and a director of business services, physicians and staff alike have administrative liaisons to whom they can relay problems to and work with to settle on a resolution.
"There are a couple ways my directors help keep this team together," he says. "First, in a way it puts people who speak the same language together. If a medical staff member needs to talk to someone about clinical issues, there's a clinical director. If they have a non-clinical issues related to the operation of the center, they had a business director. That way, they've changed their approach to problem solving and come to a resolution together. The value of open communication across both spectrums cannot be stressed enough."
5. Create an open-door policy. In addition to encouraging better communication among physicians and staff, Dr. Grossman stresses the importance of installing an open-door policy at the administrative level.
"The staff and physicians know there is an open-door policy," he says. "They know that if something needs to get to me, it'll get to me, whether it be a concern about another coworker or a director. I do not tolerate abuse in either direction. If a nurse or staff person is abusive to a physician, they are taken to task and vice versa. It's a culture that starts at the top that says this is an organization of respect and of high quality care."
Learn more about Amarillo Endoscopy Center.