By Kim Bassett

“Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.”

— George Washington Carver

Don’t you hate excuses?  Do you hate it when someone spends 10 minutes telling you why they can’t do something versus trying to figure out how to get the job done? 

I believe accountability is one of the most important principles in a well-functioning health care organization.  It is one of the most basic building blocks that provide the groundwork for building a great team.  Every individual in the organization needs to feel like it is their personal responsibility to make sure patients get excellent care.  [Read more…]

In everyday life, there are constant pressures and stresses that everyone goes through, and these can affect both your work and your life in general. It’s not just worrying about looking a certain way; it could relate to how you compare yourself to others in terms of success, financial stability, and relationships. It can be easy to let these feelings overcome you, but looking at ways to reduce negative thoughts and become a more positive person can help you reap the rewards of a happier and healthier lifestyle. There are several ways how you can gain a boost in confidence, so take a look at these four tips to help you each day.

Change your diet

The fuel you are putting into your body directly affects how you feel on the outside. Food often presents a comfort blanket for negative feelings, but this, in turn, piles on the pounds, and it can also cause significant health issues in the long-term. Diet and weight are two things that can be changed to help boost your self-esteem, and looking at ways to modify your lifestyle can be the catalyst for positive change. If you need a helping hand, there is a range of ways to get back on the right track; click here to find out how you could lose weight safely and effectively with a specialized program. [Read more…]

In order to fulfill your full potential, you should constantly be searching for exciting, challenging, and rewarding opportunities. Rather than sitting back and waiting for a promotion to fall into your lap, you need to take matters into your own hands. Nothing worth having comes easy, so you have no choice but to try your best. If you are ready and willing to do this, you will need to work your way through the following six steps. They will help you to move forward in your career path and to achieve your ambitious goals at an impressive rate. Whatever you do, don’t hold back! This is your chance to secure a bright and brilliant future.

Invest in your training and your career advancement

If you are going to secure an impressive promotion, it is essential that you appear serious about your career. How can you expect other people to have faith in you if you don’t have faith in yourself? Now is the perfect time to invest in your training. There is no better way for you to demonstrate the interest you have in your advancement. Even if you are working on a tight budget, it is still possible for you to access the necessary funds. Simply go online to take out a loan today. Whether you have a bad credit score or a prepaid debit card, you will qualify all the same. Then, you will have enough money to pay for your training and to improve your chances of progression. [Read more…]

4 Ways to Fix the Problem Now

By Douglas M. Branson

Information technology (tech) is at the epicenter of the world’s economy. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are the foremost companies in the world. But women in tech, as in other industries, face obstacles from entry-level positions to the C-suite.

If industry truly wishes to fix this, it must stop retreating into seemingly noble expressions of sentiment, and instead evaluate and adopt specific procedures and programs. That is particularly true of tech, exhibit “A” in the corporate failure to hire and promote women. Re-allocating burdens, from women who aspire to the companies and industries that would employ them, and adoption by those companies of specific programs, is what my book is all about.

Women can lean in, education can push STEM, states may enact wage gap and family leave legislation. But those developments mask the more fundamental issue. From startups to the largest firms, firms themselves actually hire and promote females. In contrast, many of these companies have gender aversion baked into their DNA. Tech, for example, has been unable to support women at any level. A mere 5 percent of Tech’s senior executives are women. Branches of the industry, such as video gaming, are overtly misogynist in governance, in culture, and in product content. [Read more…]

Productivity is the key indicator of how well one is doing in their role; high productivity will impress superiors, entail pay rises and rewards, and allow you to deal with your workload in the confines of the working day so that you’re free to enjoy your leisure time when you leave work each evening. In order to maintain a good level of productivity consistently at work, this article outlines some personal habits and objectives that will keep you producing impressive work in a timely manner, contributing to your business reputation and prestige.

Timeliness

There’s something to be said for routine. From waking at the same time each day to taking your coffee breaks at regular and expected intervals, being timely and punctual are both excellent habits that contribute towards a high level of productivity. It will train you to be in ‘work-mode’ when it really matters, meaning that the moment you sit down at your desk in the morning is the moment at which your output begins. Be professional with your timekeeping, and pragmatic with your objectives each day so that you can plan the best way to get through our workload as efficiently as possible. [Read more…]

By Kim Bassett

It’s a beautiful Monday morning, you’re on your way to work, suns coming up, and your smartphone starts binging and vibrating.  You ask Siri to read your text messages and you have numerous messages that there are people in suits in your hospital lobby.  They say they are there on behalf of CMS to do a JCAHO validation survey.  Your heart sinks… it’s going to be one of those weeks. 

You are never really prepared for a validation survey.  These surveyors are not in your building to tell you how great you are—they are there to find out what is not perfect.  They will come in weeks following your JCAHO survey so your team will easily get back into survey mode. 

Expect to have multiple surveyors based on the size of your facility and the average daily census.  Ten to fifteen surveyors shouldn’t be a surprise to you.  They may not all arrive at the same time or even the same day.  They will have experts in your building—facilities, infection control, nursing, dietitians, pharmacists, lab, radiology.  Some surveyors will leave after they have completed the survey in their specialty.    [Read more…]

By Kim Bassett

As a hospital CEO, I’ve seen many resumes come across my desk — from physicians to clerical staff – and the red flags remain the same regardless of the position. Don’t give your prospective employer any excuse to eliminate your resume before you get the interview!  Here are my top 5 red flags: 

Top red flags:

1. Frequent relocation without explanation. This often signifies something is amiss. Employers look at each employee as an investment of time and resources. Constantly changing jobs tells them that you may be a short-timer or unreliable.  Maybe you have communication problems or just can’t get along with co-workers. This also brings up the “why” question. Why did you leave all those positions? Perhaps work performance is poor or the individual simply cannot seem to stay in one place for very long.

2. Career gaps.  If you have a career gap three to six months or longer, it is vital that you provide an explanation or note it in your resume or cover letter to avoid early round elimination.  Gaps will result in questions during the interview (if you are lucky enough to get one) especially if it is not explained in your cover letter.  Be prepared to discuss them.   

[Read more…]

By Kim Bassett

It takes a lot of time to recruit the right physician.  

When you finally find a physician that is a great for your community, you want to be sure you do everything you can to make this a successful partnership.   You need to help him/her and their family assimilate into the community and make them feel like a welcome addition to the team. If a physician is moving from out of state, it can take 6 months or a year for them to get moved and get their practice started.  You need to do everything you can to help them move to the community, get settled and then get to work.

Much like being the new kid in a school, it’s easy to feel like an outsider—even when you are a physician.  There are a number of steps a leadership team can take to make sure a physician not only relocates to a community, but also makes it their home.

1. Credentialing – Credentialing can take a lot of time.  If they are not licensed in your state, try to convince them to apply while you are negotiating the move.  Some states allow a physician to “walk” their application through the process to speed it up.  Many states do not.  This process can take a lot of time.  There are companies that can help with the credentialing process. As soon as the physician agrees to the move, get them to work filling out that medical staff application.  When a physician finally makes a decision to move, they want to get moved and get to work.  Credentialing will delay their ability to start if you do not keep them focused on this process. 

2. Welcome the spouse and family. Introduce the physician and their spouse to a trusted realtor.  A realtor can work with them to find a home that meets their needs.   If there are children, they may need help finding the right schools. They may have specific religious or cultural needs.  Connect them to people in the community who can help develop their new network of friends. Does the spouse work outside the home?  Ask if they need help identifying opportunities for work in your community.  [Read more…]

By Nick Hernandez

A position as medical director can offer many rewarding opportunities to improve care.  The medical director’s time is not meant to be spent on clinical visits or resolving individual problems.  Rather, the medical director is expected to take a systems approach to care. 

On a day-to-day basis, being a medical director requires one to be passionate about excellence, good at meddling, and unafraid to be “under the microscope” and to be political, patient, and persistent. Too often, an excellent physician asked to become a medical director fails because the needed skill set is different.  Medical directorship also comes with a myriad of challenges, which any prospective applicant must carefully consider before knocking on the door of opportunity. 

As healthcare organizations are continuing to pursue physician champions and place them in positions of leadership, physicians around the country are entering into medical director agreements in a variety of settings. 

While such an arrangement has advantages for the physician, there are also some potential consequences that physicians should be aware of as they carry out the duties specified in these roles.  Government regulators and medical boards aggressively enforce their rules where they perceive a violation. [Read more…]