As a physician, there are many responsibilities placed upon you. You must maintain an office, ensure that your clinic follows certain rules, and above all you must attend to your patients needs. Working in the medical field can be stressful in so many ways and unfortunately not only do you as the physician have to work through the stress but your supporting medical staff does as well. Continue reading to learn several ways to support your medical staff and to create a positive atmosphere in your clinic.
One of the most important things to do to support your medical staff as a physician is to make sure that there is open communication. This means that your door as the superior should be open to your employees so that individuals can express when they are overwhelmed and receive extra help. This also allows for your supporting staff to come to you with ideas of how to improve your practice, which is beneficial to you. Also cultivate an atmosphere in your office where your staff is not only rewarded for working hard but for supporting one another.
Another important tip is to serve recognition where it is due. It is likely you have many wonderful employees who are working extremely hard. Letting them know formally and informally that you appreciate their efforts can help them feel valued and can lead to even better outcomes in their work. Offering recognition also will help individuals feel prouder of themselves and their place of work, which can help retain employees.
There may be times where your supporting staff may be going through a difficult time with their work and may speak with you about it, especially if you are encouraging communication in your office. The heavy workloads and long hours that your staff undergo can lead to major burnout. Be willing to hear when an individual is having a difficult time with their workload and act accordingly. Be sure to keep conversations of this sort focused on professional development and helping the individual and your organization reach objectives without burning out.
Another way to support your medical staff is to notice individual staff member’s talents. Nurses and other healthcare workers in your staff may have different talents and abilities and it is advisable to encourage them and give them certain tasks that they do well. This way, you will not only have a worker who enjoys their work but most likely get better productivity because you are allocating work to the individuals who will be able to complete the work in the most efficient and effective manner. This concept goes along with the idea of being sympathetic to your employee’s feelings because if you can recognize what it is that your company needs and what your employees need then you will be able to create a healthy balance to best take care of your clients and patients.
The last tip to help support your medical staff is to implement systems that will help take the pressure off of individual workers. Some healthcare workers have the duties of answering the phones and scheduling appointments while also caring for in-person patients. Talking with people over the phone can take a lot of time and add pressure. A solution to this issue would be to hire a medical answering system or scheduler. Another may be to try job-sharing.
Here at CareXM, we offer services to help you manage your patients and to help support your medical staff. We serve all sorts of medical providers with medical answering services and video conferencing services. To learn more about our services or to create the perfect system for your company, contact us today.