Should Orientation Be Mandatory?

You must decide if the new physician orientation will be mandatory. The penetration of your message in the physician staff will increase as orientation moves from “voluntary” to “an expectation of new physicians” to “mandatory”. The remainder of this chapter will provide an orientation which I used at St. Vincent Hospital using the Ascension Health Mission Statement. You will see easily how to adapt the story of your own hospital and incorporate your mission statement. This orientation method is designed for a small group of 6 – 15 physicians. Larger groups can be oriented with this method by creating several smaller groupings for the discussions and letting the small groups bring key points to the larger group. Smaller facilities may orient only one or two physicians each year. In that situation, the physician champion, a chaplain and a potential mentor could cover the same material during a shared breakfast. You might groom some of the physician staff to be mentors particularly for new physicians.