Collect stories from staff, show what they really do
When she stepped into a new role as a patient access manager at Menasha, WI-based Affinity Health System, Jackie Mitchler says she was amazed at the amount of skills and information that all of her staff had to know and learn. "Then I went to management staff meetings and heard about all the clinical kudos and news, and nothing about registration," she says. "I had heard time and time again that registration was a kind of dumping ground. I could see morale was low."
One day, Mitchler came into work after a sleepless night, worrying about how she could turn the situation around. She began thinking about a presentation she had given recently at a local high school, to explain what the position of patient registrar entailed. While speaking to the students, Mitchler had shared a few anecdotal stories from her staff. Possibly, she thought, the same method could be used to garner much-needed respect for her department.
"Patient access, outpatient testing, and scheduling are the face of a health care organization. It is all about the people, isn't it? That's what makes patient access - the staff and the patients we take care of," says Mitchler, currently the organization's patient business service revenue cycle analyst.
Mitchler began by asking staff at a department meeting if they would mind giving her a personal story about doing their job. Most of the staff thought the idea was a great one, and noted that nobody had ever asked them to do this before. One staff person said she was "not too good at putting her feelings down on paper" but wound up contributing a compelling story.
"When I explained to them that I wanted upper management and the entire organization to know all about them and what they do, they were willing to offer their stories," says Mitchler, who e-mailed the compiled stories, titled "Behind the 'Eyes' of the Patient Access, Outpatient Testing and Communitywide Scheduling Departments," to upper management.
"When I shared the book with one of our lean facilitators who works with this department, he looked at me and said, 'I am speechless. I have never seen this done before and it's excellent,'" recalls Mitchler.
Mitchler says that her major goal, to achieve recognition, respect, and admiration for her staff, was clearly achieved. "It is not possible to not gain all of those things for those folks and this department after reading our book," she says. "Every patient access department should have a book just like this. It helps you to really know about the staff, and it does help build morale. It's also nice to have and reflect on for years to come."
Mitchler says she is looking forward to additional input from senior leaders. "I have found that when something like this is created and sent out, oftentimes the change is not so much in an e-mail, but rather their reactions show it. I think of the old saying 'actions speak louder than words.' So, we shall see."
[For more information, contact:
- Jackie Mitchler, Manager, Patient Access & Outpatient Testing, Affinity Health System, 1570 Midway Place, Menasha, WI 54952. Phone:(920) 738-2363. Fax: (920) 831-8506. E-mail: [email protected].]
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