By Christiane Soto, Snelling Medical Professionals

The term “soft skills” is used to describe an employee’s non-technical skills and abilities and is known by many other names, including interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence or “people skills”. Soft skills include (for example) problem-solving skills, working well on teams, showing up on time, and the ability to effectively communicate.

Technical skills can be taught.  Medical workers go to school to learn the hard skills needed to work in the medical profession.  Soft skills are influenced by who we are as a person.  There is no substitute for a person who has the natural ability to communicate well, provide exemplary patient care, and work well with others.

Because of this, soft skills have gained more importance among employers.  In the medical field, the following intangible skills are ranked very highly:

• Empathy
• The ability to lead
• Work well in teams
• Communication and listening skills

However, if you are searching for a job in the medical field, soft skills are hard to highlight. You cannot simply list the number of days you had no arguments with co-workers, or the number of fights you resolved, or the number of days you arrived on time for your shift.      Read the rest of this entry »

By Christiane Soto, Snelling Medical Professionals

Leadership is an art, something to be learned over time, not simply by reading books.  Leadership is more tribal than scientific, more a weaving of relationships than an amassing of information… (Max DePree)

But with the growing complexity of the healthcare system, a new type of physician is gaining prominence- the physician leader.  Now, in some respects, all physicians are leaders…in the operating room, in the emergency room, in the examination room.  However, a physician leader combines clinical care knowledge with administrative duties in an attempt to take a “good” medical facility or group and make it a “great” medical facility or group.  He/she is changing the face of medicine – realizing that change must occur – and is combining clinical knowledge with administrative leadership to do so.  The problem is leadership does not come naturally to many.

Creating a vision, sharing it, and then seeing it through to fruition does not come inherently to many physicians.  They are trained to identify a problem / situation / condition and then take the steps necessary to fix it.  They cannot grow into something that they do not understand, are skeptical about, or shy away from due to societal misperceptions (Alec Baldwin’s “I am God” speech from Malice, for example).

Many of today’s physicians have never received formal leadership training.  They are not born leaders, but they can learn to become great leaders.  Everyone can learn new skills, and the same goes for doctors.  Leadership is a skill, and (as such) it can be learned.      Read the rest of this entry »

By Christiane Soto, Snelling Medical Professionals

Medical practices are relying more on advance practice clinicians – a group that includes nurse practitioners and physician assistants.  Because of this demand, salaries have increased approximately 9%.  However, the turnover rate is showing signs of increasing as well.  In the annual Physician Retention Survey, the turnover rate for both nurse practitioners and physician assistants was 11.5%.  This was down from 2011, but remained almost 5 percentage points higher than the turnover rate for physicians.

Keep Your Best People

All medical practices are human- driven organizations.  Machines do not treat people (not at least by themselves); people do.  It is a person’s clinical expertise and knowledge of how to read the machine’s data that drives the diagnosis and eventual treatment.

Therefore, in order to combat turnover and keep your high value staff members, it is inherent that you become a better “people person”.  In other words, you need to embrace your inner HR manager.      Read the rest of this entry »

By Christiane Soto, Snelling Medical Professionals

The Hippocratic Oath is one of the oldest binding documents in history.  Written thousands of years ago, it has remained “an expression of ideal conduct for the physician”, but the world has changed much since its creation.

Hippocrates never had to deal with health care organizations demanding access to patient records or the explosion of social media as a method for medical learning.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know.

The advice is out there  ….pin…tweet….share!  But what about patient privacy?  It is a huge concern, and not one that is very clear-cut.  “Digital natives” – young adults who have grown up with social media – have a very different view of privacy than their parents (or even older cousins).  Managing this new communication model (with all its blurred lines) can be an enormous challenge.  What one group views as crossing the line, another group views as inclusive behavior.        Read the rest of this entry »

By Melinda Juneau, Snelling.com

In the medical field, you are trained for emergencies. They happen almost daily and if a day is calm, you begin looking around to see what is wrong; it’s just in the nature of healthcare for the unexpected to happen. No one can plan their medical problems and it is one of the reasons most medical facilities will never close at the end of the day. A medical facility is usually open 24/7.   Do you have enough staff to provide proper care? Will your staff be overworked and overtired due to poor scheduling and be prone to mistakes? The summer is a time of year when many facilities see a decrease in the quality of patient care due to a lack of scheduling but you can ensure yours doesn’t face this same problem.

Summer vacation is quickly approaching and that means many members of your staff will have added requests for time off due to family vacations, family reunions, and personal days when the weather is perfect for a day outside.  Because your staff deserves the time off, you want to be able to give them the days as requested, but the facility will still need to be open.  Are you able to provide excellent care when one manager is on vacation, the other is ill, and the third one has to be home for the AC repair person to show up?  Maybe you have some staff members who will rise to the occasion and provide the necessary leadership but is that a gamble you want to take with peoples’ lives?  Of course not!  You want to provide excellent care and maintain order within your medical facility.  There are two simple ways to keep your facility running as smoothly as possible: Read the rest of this entry »

By Melinda Juneau, Snelling.com

It is no secret when a doctor gives you a list of orders and instructions, you should follow them. After all, didn’t you just pay this person money to provide you with their knowledge in hopes of improving your health?  Yet every day, patients walk into the doctor’s office and walk out, with no intention of following his/her orders. Some will not even go into the office unless it is a life-threatening emergency.

Every year, the number of non-compliant patients averages between 40-50%. This range means close to half of the people seeing a doctor for a medical problem do not follow the doctor’s advice. The number is the same for patients and for the guardians of minors who need medical care.  With the proper techniques and a plan, this number can be decreased in your facility.

You may have patients that come into your facility who are sticklers for the rules.  They don’t cross the street until the “Walk” light comes on, they don’t cut the tags off of their pillows, they always pay their bills on time, and they certainly don’t abuse the medications they are prescribed.  In fact, they may not even take them!   Read the rest of this entry »

By Melinda Juneau, Snelling.com

From the moment you decided to become a RN, you have followed a plan.  This plan probably consisted of excelling in school, completing a state-required nursing program, finding a position and beginning work.  Now it is your first day of work as a registered nurse.  It is both exciting and nerve-racking as you walk into the hospital, but you feel ready to start this career.  It is important to remember that you are not alone in your journey as a new nurse, and there are various ways you can be proactive in your first year to not only survive, but thrive.

Here are five simple ways to make the first year feel less confused and establish good habits for your future as a nurse:

1. Always be Early for your Shift- If you are scheduled to start at 0700, plan to arrive at 0630 in order to prepare and provide better care..  For example, previous shift reports need to be read and understood; these are crucial for your shift as they will tell you what happened, what is supposed to happen, and how you can prepare.  The nurse giving the report will be relieved to see you are there on time and will probably be grateful for the chance to disseminate as much information as possible. This plethora of information will give you a leg-up throughout your shift. Read the rest of this entry »

By Melinda Juneau, Snelling.com
The average healthcare employee will spend anywhere from 8-11+ hours at their workplace on a daily basis.  What are you doing to facilitate a healthy life for them while they are at work?  Do you have a wellness plan implemented?  Taking the time to care about your staffs’ health and well-being can go a long way for the efficiency and high level of care you provide.  It can cut down on absenteeism, improve morale, and even promote less tension between the staff.

According to the CDC Prevention Publication of April 2012, it is estimated that as much as 75% of total U.S. health care spending is for people with chronic conditions.  It goes on to identify the four modifiable health risks that are responsible for much of this chronic disease burden: tobacco use, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, and excessive alcohol consumption.

If your facility has a wellness program in place, when was the last time you took an inventory to see who is using it? When was the last time you heard any type of employee feedback regarding the programs?  It can take time to benefit from the results of a wellness program so if yours just began, it is crucial to stay committed to the process.

Use this simple guide as a way to take a quick inventory of your program. If you are meeting these needs, the program is headed in the right direction. If not, consider various ways to implement changes so it becomes a tangible benefit rather than just a proposed plan. Read the rest of this entry »

By Melinda Juneau, Snelling.com

There is a new buzz word in the work place today, and you probably hear it on a regular basis: culture.

This is a difficult word to define.  What exactly is company culture?  Would an employee actually change companies to experience a different culture? Is company culture important?  How would you measure the effectiveness of your own?

Creating a culture within the healthcare world can be more difficult than in a corporate setting.  There will be noticeable differences, and what some companies will use to define their culture will not be what the healthcare industry will be able to use.   There are companies who offer a relaxed culture and provide their employees such things as unlimited vacation time, relaxed dress, no set arrival/departure times, and even large break rooms with food, couches, and televisions. This is not possible in a healthcare facility. Staff cannot take unlimited vacation time, and they have to arrive at the facility when they are scheduled.  Their attire must fit the safety guidelines so they are able to perform their daily duties. Rooms are at a premium, so it wouldn’t be feasible to devote a large section for staff-use only.

Culture in a Healthcare Facility

The way in which a healthcare facility’s culture can be defined is in how the regulations and protocols are enforced:  a tyrannical, rigid manner or a professional, responsibility-based approach.  Your staff will usually respond positively to the latter, and that can begin to define your culture. It can be more relaxed, but there are certain standards that must be followed because lives are at stake.

Here are some other ways you can implement the culture you want at your facility:   Read the rest of this entry »

By Melinda Juneau, Snelling.com

In the past, generational changes within the candidate pool would happen in a nice, orderly fashion. Older workers retired and younger workers “came of age” to take their place in the workforce.  It would be noticeable in some jobs, when (suddenly) more young people started applying for the available jobs.  Sometimes, the technology changed dramatically, or the long hours caused too much strain, or the physical labor required became too much.  Sometimes, it was simply time to retire and start a new phase of life.  Whatever the reason, older workers would retire, and the younger workers would replace them.

However, that has changed.

Today, workers of all generations apply for new jobs in almost every area within the healthcare field.    Many workers have taken a hit to their retirement portfolios in the last recession.  Many lost home values and may have had to put off retirement.  Whatever the reason, many older workers have to continue to work or have to return to work in order to maintain their lifestyle. They still hope to retire within several years, but for the time being, they remain active in the workforce.

Read the rest of this entry »