Are staff overloaded? 'Jump in and help'
It shows them you care
"If staff are unhappy, you can feel it when you walk around them. You can just sense that there is something wrong," says Amy Webster, director of patient access at Knox Community Hospital in Mt. Vernon, OH. "That is why, to me, one of the most important things is rounding with your staff on a daily basis. When I round with the staff, it makes me aware of things that are going on in their area with co-workers or other departments."
For one thing, this is a chance to find out if there are any supplies access staff need to do their jobs. "I have had several associates ask for many things, such as a bigger monitor screen on their computer and a more ergonomic keyboard and chair," says Webster. "Rounding also gives me the opportunity to recognize other employees within the department, or other departments, for going above and beyond."
Another reason for rounding is to check to see if staff are overwhelmed and need your immediate help. "It gives me a chance to see how patient flow is going, so I can hop in and help them if they are busy," says Webster. "A manager should always jump in and help when there are calloffs and/or associates on paid time off."
Webster cross-trains everyone in her department, so she can pull from all areas to help during shortages or peak times. "I find that jumping in and helping them when they are short-staffed or busy makes they understand that you do care about them and that you are not above them," says Webster.
While making her rounds with access staff, Vicki Lyons, patient access manager at Baptist Hospital East in Louisville, KY, not only talks with the employees but also offers help if it is busy. "Or even if someone is just stressed out, I will move them to another area, possibly preadmits, to give them a break," she says. "I also try to tease them, saying, 'Keep smiling, it will get better.' Now some employees will tease me and say, 'Are we smiling today?' I show them that I do care if it has been a crazy day, and try to enforce that I know what they have to go through every day. They do have a hard job."
Lyons says she brings in goodies frequently, makes cinnamon bread, keeps candy in her drawer, and above all, lets everyone know she's available if they need to talk about an issue.
"We issue gift cards for outstanding performance and attendance, buy lunches during short-staffed and increased census times, and provide hands-on support," says Diane Manuel, director of patient access for admissions and the emergency department at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. "Supervisors and assistant managers are expected to register patients when staff are struggling with being short-staffed or when registration numbers increase."
Manuel says she has an "open door" relationship with employees. "If I am in, I am available. If the assistant managers are in, they are available," she says. "We have shift supervisors in the emergency department patient access area. They work with staff on all shifts."
The supervisors are in the ED registration area, so they know when registration is in need of help. They keep a check on the ED census and which patients' registrations are complete and which are pending. The assistant manager for the ED monitors the incomplete registrations throughout the day.
"When she determines the staff are in need of additional help, she goes to the registration area to assist in the registration process," says Manuel. "Both the assistant manager and I come on all shifts during scheduled computer downtime."
The downtime procedure includes computer entry of all the patients who are registered during the downtime into the system once it is available. Manuel assists the staff in manual bedside collection of information during downtime. "Once computer access is available, we enter the downtime registrations into the system to allow staff to continue with patients as they arrive," says Manuel. "In addition, we instruct staff to call us at home when unexpected crises occur. We either handle the situation by phone or come to the ED."
"If staff are unhappy, you can feel it when you walk around them."You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content