How hospital executives wish their hospitalists would act

Recently, I wrote a letter to hospital executives, urging them to deliberately invest their own personal time and effort in fostering hospitalist well-being. I suggested several actions that leaders can take to enhance hospitalist job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout and turnover. Following the publication of that post, I heard from several hospital executives and was pleasantly surprised that they all responded positively to my message. Several execs told me that they gained valuable new insights about their hospitalists’ challenges and needs, or that they planned to take action on one or more of my suggestions that had never occurred to them before. Especially useful to them was the idea of a hospitalist “hierarchy of needs,” in which basics such as well-designed work (including adequate staffing), belonging and esteem must be addressed before expecting hospitalists to undertake “self-actualizing” work, such as engagement in organizational performance improvement initiatives. Their feedback reinforced my belief that most hospital leaders care a lot about promoting healthy, stable and sustainable hospitalist programs. However, the hospital leaders I talked with also had some messages for their hospitalist colleagues, and I think it’s important to share them in the spirit of fostering a healthy exchange of perspectives. Your hospital’s leaders would be delighted and encouraged if you would engage them in dialogue about these issues. Continue reading ....
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Physician Hospital Hospitalist Source Type: blogs