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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5
know — or may have forgotten — that you sit on the Infection
Control committee and are updating preference cards, stocking rooms
and performing chart audits, all while still doing cases and working to
keep those turnover times down. A gentle reminder may result in
them transferring some of those responsibilities to other staff mem-
bers or, at least, some recognition for doing such a great job in all of
those areas.
3. Prioritize. When faced with multiple responsibilities, we have to
make some tough choices. Cases are running late and they're asking
for volunteers to stay. But, tonight is your daughter's dance recital.
You could use the extra money but don't want to let your daughter
down. This is a tough choice and only you can make that call. One
thing that helps is to have a proactive discussion with your family
about how you'll handle these situations. For example, if you and
your family will take all of the overtime you can get unless it inter-
feres with a family function, you've established agreed-upon guide-
lines for handling this dilemma. If you decide that you'll discuss each
scenario as it comes up, you know a conversation needs to take place
before you agree to those extra hours. Working with your partner or
establishing clear parameters in your mind about how to manage
scheduling conflicts will help you make the right decisions.
4. Don't sweat the small stuff. "Grant me the serenity to accept the
things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference." These words of the Serenity Prayer
can really act as our first "filter" when faced with overwhelming issues.
As an administrator, I feel absolute responsibility for the well-being of
my staff, my physicians and our patients. I stress (obsess?) about the
tiniest details to make sure all of their experiences at my center are
S U R G E O N S ' L O U N G E
