When learning anything new, there are four distinct phases to progress through. They tend to be steps, rather than a continuous climb. That’s why I like the concept of a staircase better than a curve. This applies when gaining new expertise yourself, and also when training other personnel. Step 1: Unconscious Incompetence, Bliss This is the phase where you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s always the starting point, and typically does not cause any distress. It’s more a sense of false satisfaction. It’s typically short-lived, but a pure and calm sensation. As soon as a conflict develops, … [Read more...] about The Learning Staircase
Office Management
Managing People 3
The staff members in a doctor’s office will usually include administrative personnel first, and direct or auxiliary care providers second (if at all). Both employee classes need boundaries, guidelines and policies in order to be effective employees. A good distinction to draw is the difference between the social and the cultural. A social agreement in a business is anything written that describes rules and agreements. A cultural agreement in a business is the unwritten and usually unspoken set of shared values that dictate behavior. Moving towards a socially rather than culturally run … [Read more...] about Managing People 3
Managing People 2
One of the toughest employee issues facing a doctor is the task of finding the right person to fill a specific administrative role in the office. We are constantly faced with the choice between finding a competent person and then tailoring the job to her strengths or defining the job and then finding the person who fits that mold best. There are positives to both approaches, explored below. Lean or redundant organization? A generation ago, almost all organizations were redundant. This means that there were multiple pathways to get something accomplished. Back-ups and substitutes were easier … [Read more...] about Managing People 2
Managing People 1
The very first time you hire someone to be a part of your health care team, you have become a manager. Many doctors enter this arena blindly, without training, experience, communications, and without any sense of employment law or its bureaucratic cousins. Making a bigger impact on your community, being able to help as many people as possible, and generally being more effective demands that you become a great manager in addition to your diagnostic and treatment skills. This series will address basic concepts that can apply to an office of any size. Rewards Current thought in workplace … [Read more...] about Managing People 1