Medical Staff Development - Alignment strategies

Directorship was not the answer because it focuses mission alignment too narrowly. Directorships can be effective if the directors understand how create alignment in their reports.

Joint venture was not the answer although it can be effective in creating alignment in a particular service area. However it is constructed, there will always be and “us and them” relationship. That “us and them” is a warning flag that alignment is superficial.

Exclusive contract was not the answer because those excluded from the contract are alienated to some extent by the mission.

So, the answer is “b”, physician employment. The employment approach allows alignment to occur on multiple levels in: recruiting, organization, tasking, goal setting, performance evaluation, compensation and professional development.

Was your answer different? Why?

Medical Staff Development - Alignment strategies

Quiz:
Which of these alignment strategies is most likely to align the medical staff on the hospital mission?
a. Joint venture
b. Physician employment
c. Directorship
d. Exclusive contract
Post your answer in the comments section, and I will post mine and why next time.

Medical Staff Development - Quality

Physicians take pride in quality. Once a medical staff shifts from thinking about quality as something each individual provides and begins to think about quality as a team effort, there is a subtle but important shift in pride. It becomes pride in the team. It becomes pride in the institution. In its ultimate form, the team and the institution become a community of mutual care. What about alignment strategies based on pay-for-performance? They point back to individual quality and individual performance. They point away from the team and the community. How do you move from a culture with an individual focus to a culture with a team focus? Blatantly self-serving though it is, I want to refer you to my new book, soon to be released, entitled The Physician Champion, An Agent for a Compassionate Culture.

Medical Staff Development Communications

There are so many things to communicate to the medical staff. Physicians consequently have a lot showing up on their radar screen. How do you communicate a mission message? Do you fax, tweet, blog, e-mail, snail mail or use the internet? Which of these you use depends mainly on the preferences of your medical staff. The more important issue is how you incorporate a mission message into each of these media. Keep in mind that the same banner message with each communication is the easiest approach, but it will be progressively ignored as physicians jump to the new material. Link the main idea of each message back to the mission. It will develop a mission-focused pattern of thinking for you and your physician readers.

Medical Staff Development - Social Events

Merry New Year! Now that you have survived the peak season for social events, I thought that we might look at social events as a part of medical staff development and physician formation.

Physicians assemble for social events during the year. These are opportunities to re-infuse mission goals. The hospital gala is the perfect venue to celebrate mission and relief work or charitable giving. The staff retreat is an excellent opportunity to link the hospital mission with operational initiatives. These are places where spiritual healing can occur if the programs are properly orchestrated. These are places where vision is cast. What is the vision that we are casting? What is the direction that we are going? Is it only consistent with the hospital mission or does it drive the mission?