This year has had its ups and downs. Take a few minutes out of your day to enjoy some of the beauty of the planet and a little holiday humor.
http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/spiritual/pictures/news.php?q=1245101530
Places to visit in the US
http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/drives/photography
Winter wonderlands
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/patterns-snow-ice.html
Already tired of the snow-maybe looking at it a different way might help
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/patterns-snowflakes.html
Or maybe some snow humor will help
http://mymerrychristmas.com/2005/shoveler.shtml
Preparing for the holidays at home
http://mymerrychristmas.com/2005/parentsnite.shtml
http://mymerrychristmas.com/2005/momsletter.shtml
http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Christmas/santas%20day.htm
Preparing for the holidays at work
http://mymerrychristmas.com/2005/lawyer.shtml\
http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Christmas/Twas/twascomputer.htm
http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Christmas/Twas/twaslawstyle.htm
http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Hanukkah/twashanu.htm
Games
http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Christmas/xmassongs.htm
http://holidays.kaboose.com/games-xmas.html
Holiday song playlist
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=3167&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/christmas/christmas_carols.htm
And last but not least-we have nothing to give you
http://mymerrychristmas.com/2005/nothing.shtml
Enjoy and have a safe and happy holiday season!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Oops, where are my manners?
Around the holiday season the stress starts to build. Ever feel overworked due to the end of the year crunch and dealing with the holidays both personally and professionally? Does your office seem to lose their manners? Does the team seem to fall apart during this time of the year? You are not alone. Many people start feeling stressed and depressed during this season. How can you cope then? According to the Mayo there are some common triggers include relationships, finances, and physical demands. They offer 10 tips for handling the triggers:
1. Acknowledge your feelings
2. Reach out to others
3. Be realistic
4. Set aside differences
5. Stick to a budget
6. Plan ahead
7. Learn to say no
8. Don’t abandon healthy habits
9. Take a breather
10. Seek professional help if you need it
The Mayo’s advice can also apply to the medical practice. Have the staff sit down and acknowledge the problems, set aside the differences to work out realistic, workable solutions. Review the practice fiances by conducting periodic audits throughout the year. Plan for the future and how the team can become stronger. Sometimes it is necessary to minimize the work and just say no to some projects. Consider hosting a company’s wide wellness program to encourage a health lifestyle. This time of year, many of the staff will develop a New Year’s resolution to become healthy-help, so why not help them? If they become healthier than the cots can decrease.
Why not take a breather? Have a fun, but low-key holiday party with the staff. You probably already have a party, but why not have a fun day? Plan a pot-luck or potato/salad/taco bar, the list of possibilities is endless. Throughout the day have fun games or activities that staff can do in-between the work. Have word games that they can play or trivia games on manners, healthcare or even the season. Then close a little early and announce the winners. By eating and having fun together it makes the team stronger and helps to reduce the stress. If these ideas do not work and there is still an issue with manners, consider bringing in a consultant to help with the team. There are many ways to approach the problem, but the key is to reduce the stress and start enjoying the team. By reducing the stress and making it an enjoyable place to work, you can often instantly turn around the mood and improve the manners. Have a great holiday season ad don’t forget your manners.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/MH00030
1. Acknowledge your feelings
2. Reach out to others
3. Be realistic
4. Set aside differences
5. Stick to a budget
6. Plan ahead
7. Learn to say no
8. Don’t abandon healthy habits
9. Take a breather
10. Seek professional help if you need it
The Mayo’s advice can also apply to the medical practice. Have the staff sit down and acknowledge the problems, set aside the differences to work out realistic, workable solutions. Review the practice fiances by conducting periodic audits throughout the year. Plan for the future and how the team can become stronger. Sometimes it is necessary to minimize the work and just say no to some projects. Consider hosting a company’s wide wellness program to encourage a health lifestyle. This time of year, many of the staff will develop a New Year’s resolution to become healthy-help, so why not help them? If they become healthier than the cots can decrease.
Why not take a breather? Have a fun, but low-key holiday party with the staff. You probably already have a party, but why not have a fun day? Plan a pot-luck or potato/salad/taco bar, the list of possibilities is endless. Throughout the day have fun games or activities that staff can do in-between the work. Have word games that they can play or trivia games on manners, healthcare or even the season. Then close a little early and announce the winners. By eating and having fun together it makes the team stronger and helps to reduce the stress. If these ideas do not work and there is still an issue with manners, consider bringing in a consultant to help with the team. There are many ways to approach the problem, but the key is to reduce the stress and start enjoying the team. By reducing the stress and making it an enjoyable place to work, you can often instantly turn around the mood and improve the manners. Have a great holiday season ad don’t forget your manners.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/MH00030
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Want to Help the Healthcare Crisis?
Want to give back to the community? Want to help with the healthcare crisis? Consider donating your time and resources to a free healthcare clinic http://freeclinics.us/ These events are in need of volunteers, of course they always need healthcare workers to make it happen, but also need others to make the event function smoothly. If you can’t donate your time, how about money to help serve those that can’t afford healthcare?
For those that live in the Kansas City area:
The National Association of Free Clinics has been very busy this fall as a result of the CARE Clinic in Houston sponsored by Dr. Oz where we saw almost 1800 people on a Saturday in September and then the phenomenal response from across the nation as a result of a call to action by Keith Olbermann on Countdown that raised money to support additional clinics.
We are pleased that on December 9th and 10th the National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) will be sponsoring a two-day clinic in Kansas City at Bartle Hall and the health care community here is responding to make it happen.
We are recruiting volunteers—professional and lay people—and are just beginning the planning. I hope you will send this on to those in your contact list that might be interested in working with us. And, if you would like to help in the planning, let me know.
The website for volunteer to sign up to work at the Clinic itself should be up over the weekend.
This is an exciting opportunity to show the nation the wonderful way that Kansas City comes together to serve the uninsured!
Sheridan Y. Wood
Executive Director
Kansas City Free Health Clinic
3515 Broadway
Kansas City, MO 64111
DD: 816.777.2763
Other: 816.753.5144 Ext. 263
Fax: 816.777.2796
http://www.kcfree.org/
For those that live in the Kansas City area:
The National Association of Free Clinics has been very busy this fall as a result of the CARE Clinic in Houston sponsored by Dr. Oz where we saw almost 1800 people on a Saturday in September and then the phenomenal response from across the nation as a result of a call to action by Keith Olbermann on Countdown that raised money to support additional clinics.
We are pleased that on December 9th and 10th the National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) will be sponsoring a two-day clinic in Kansas City at Bartle Hall and the health care community here is responding to make it happen.
We are recruiting volunteers—professional and lay people—and are just beginning the planning. I hope you will send this on to those in your contact list that might be interested in working with us. And, if you would like to help in the planning, let me know.
The website for volunteer to sign up to work at the Clinic itself should be up over the weekend.
This is an exciting opportunity to show the nation the wonderful way that Kansas City comes together to serve the uninsured!
Sheridan Y. Wood
Executive Director
Kansas City Free Health Clinic
3515 Broadway
Kansas City, MO 64111
DD: 816.777.2763
Other: 816.753.5144 Ext. 263
Fax: 816.777.2796
http://www.kcfree.org/
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Should we wait to fix a mistake?
Sometimes mistakes happen in business. It can be as simple as staff error or equipment failure. In medicine this can have an adverse affect on the patient. In business it can mean bad publicity, for example recently a man was at a famous casino and the machine indicated that he had won $166 million. However the machine’s top prize was only $2,500. Initially they told him that it was a mistake and that he would take away nothing even though the machine clearly showed that he had won something. They pointed out the disclaimer on the machine and told him that it was an electronic error and therefore no prize would be awarded. Needless to say, he had the news on this one and it hit the wire service and was picked up and broadcasted around the country. The big question will be how much is this going to cost the business in the long run? Maybe they shouldn’t pay the entire amount that the man thought he won, but why not pay the machine’s maximum limit since it did show that he had won something? How many people have heard about this and how much is it going to affect the business image? Would it not have been worth it to offer something to the man on the spot? Later on after the story initially ran and they received so much negative publicity, they did offer an undisclosed settlement, but the damage had already been done to their reputation.
Every day in practices across the country, mistakes can happen. There has always been concern about admitting mistakes in healthcare, but sometimes it is a good idea and as soon as possible. Maybe just a simply apology from the staff member that made the mistake may be enough to satisfy the person before the problem spreads. How many people will the unhappy patient tell the longer the problem exists? What damage will it do and with on-line comments can it even be measured any more? The question becomes how much is our image worth to us? Everyone makes mistakes, but waiting to fix them can hurt.
Every day in practices across the country, mistakes can happen. There has always been concern about admitting mistakes in healthcare, but sometimes it is a good idea and as soon as possible. Maybe just a simply apology from the staff member that made the mistake may be enough to satisfy the person before the problem spreads. How many people will the unhappy patient tell the longer the problem exists? What damage will it do and with on-line comments can it even be measured any more? The question becomes how much is our image worth to us? Everyone makes mistakes, but waiting to fix them can hurt.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Red Flag Delayed Again!
This may seem like a broken record, but yes the Red Flag Rules have been delayed.
"At the request of Members of Congress, the Federal Trade Commission is delaying enforcement of the “Red Flags” Rule until June 1, 2010, for financial institutions and creditors subject to enforcement by the FTC." For more details http://www2.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/redflags.shtm
"At the request of Members of Congress, the Federal Trade Commission is delaying enforcement of the “Red Flags” Rule until June 1, 2010, for financial institutions and creditors subject to enforcement by the FTC." For more details http://www2.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/redflags.shtm
Monday, October 26, 2009
Changing from Being a Worker to a Leader
Congratulations, you were recently promoted, now what? Changing from a worker to a leader can be exciting, but also daunting. You feel the pressure of performance, not only of yourself but of the others as well. You are now expected to do your work and monitor the others as well. That can be scary, understanding that you are now responsible for what other people do. If they do well, then it reflects well on you. When they mess up, you are expected to fix the problem and deal with the consequences. That can be a problem; you will wonder how you are supposed to get everything done in the day? You could give up eating and sleeping-or you could learn another part of your new job-delegation.
Delegation can be an especially difficult thing for most managers to do. You feel that the staff cannot handle something or feel you are responsible. Ask yourself, why can’t they handle it? If it is something confidential or due to regulations they cannot handle it, but otherwise you would be surprised what they can handle.
One new manager was so afraid to let go of things that she would work 70+ hours per week! She had no personal life at all. Her kids were in trouble with the law and struggling in school. She was depressed and anxious all of the time. After we discussed this issue many times she was finally able to let go of a few things. It was very difficult for her to do that and she struggled with it for a long time. She was so obsessed with how she wanted everything done that she would even tell someone how to put the statements in the envelope, speaking to them as if they were a small child. This was a true problem, all of her staff felt that she didn’t trust them at all, which she probably didn’t. This affected staff moral and their dedication to the company. It is not uncommon that when one person is moved from a worker to a manager position that there are problems, but when all of the staff leaves in just a few months it is a sign that maybe we need to work on the manager.
Some people make the transition to manager smoothly never missing a beat; however most of us need a little help to get on the right track. One of the first things you can do is to find someone that you respect and emulate their behavior. For some reason you respected that person. Why, what do they do that is so special? Make a list of traits that you like about them and then starting thinking about how you can do what they do. This can help give you an idea of what you should probably be doing. That and studying different views on the subject can give you ideas of what type of leader that you want to be and what you need to become to do the job. I suggest studying many different books and take as many classes on the subject that you can. You will find many variations on the theme, find what works for you.
Taken in part from PMSA’s New Manager
Delegation can be an especially difficult thing for most managers to do. You feel that the staff cannot handle something or feel you are responsible. Ask yourself, why can’t they handle it? If it is something confidential or due to regulations they cannot handle it, but otherwise you would be surprised what they can handle.
One new manager was so afraid to let go of things that she would work 70+ hours per week! She had no personal life at all. Her kids were in trouble with the law and struggling in school. She was depressed and anxious all of the time. After we discussed this issue many times she was finally able to let go of a few things. It was very difficult for her to do that and she struggled with it for a long time. She was so obsessed with how she wanted everything done that she would even tell someone how to put the statements in the envelope, speaking to them as if they were a small child. This was a true problem, all of her staff felt that she didn’t trust them at all, which she probably didn’t. This affected staff moral and their dedication to the company. It is not uncommon that when one person is moved from a worker to a manager position that there are problems, but when all of the staff leaves in just a few months it is a sign that maybe we need to work on the manager.
Some people make the transition to manager smoothly never missing a beat; however most of us need a little help to get on the right track. One of the first things you can do is to find someone that you respect and emulate their behavior. For some reason you respected that person. Why, what do they do that is so special? Make a list of traits that you like about them and then starting thinking about how you can do what they do. This can help give you an idea of what you should probably be doing. That and studying different views on the subject can give you ideas of what type of leader that you want to be and what you need to become to do the job. I suggest studying many different books and take as many classes on the subject that you can. You will find many variations on the theme, find what works for you.
Taken in part from PMSA’s New Manager
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Leadership and Teamwork
Sometimes we can learn so much about leadership and teamwork from the way we play a game. Often in our society we focus so much on winning and getting ahead that we lose sight of what is really important in life-each other. In healthcare we often talk about team approaches and working together, but in reality that real team is often what is missing in a practice. Though we do have to think about the bottom-line, healthcare regulations, staffing issues and the list is endless; ask yourself at the end of the day, did we make a difference? Did we really help someone and make their life a little easier?
Over the many years of being in healthcare, we can easily lose focus of why we entered the field to begin with-helping others. In healthcare we really are our brother’s (or sister’s) keeper. While working towards building your team, remind everyone to keep sight of what is really important and what is probably part of your mission or vision statement-serving others.
As a leader in your organization you often set the tone on the team, what type of tone are you setting? Do you set one of focusing on the concept of serving others as a team? What is your focus? Is it of improving the balance sheet or of overall improvement? Sometimes we can learn from a game on what is really important.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKUaLlK776s.
Over the many years of being in healthcare, we can easily lose focus of why we entered the field to begin with-helping others. In healthcare we really are our brother’s (or sister’s) keeper. While working towards building your team, remind everyone to keep sight of what is really important and what is probably part of your mission or vision statement-serving others.
As a leader in your organization you often set the tone on the team, what type of tone are you setting? Do you set one of focusing on the concept of serving others as a team? What is your focus? Is it of improving the balance sheet or of overall improvement? Sometimes we can learn from a game on what is really important.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKUaLlK776s.
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