patients to make them as relaxed and as comfortable as possible.
"It's very easy to quietly observe how well staff get along and how
they treat patients," says Dr. Rickert. "Do they have friendly smiles? Do
they plump up pillows? Treating patients with respect and compassion
matters a great deal, and we do take notice."
Many surgeons want to handpick their surgical teams. "That comes
with time," explains Dr. Gauta. "I work with everyone to get a sense of
their personalities and clinical skills." One staffer he worked with was
a whiz in the OR, but every word that came out of her mouth rubbed
Dr. Gauta the wrong way. Needless to say, she didn't make the cut.
That mismatch aside, Dr. Gauta appreciates the direct line of com-
munication he has with staff in his small surgery center. He likes that
he can chat with members of his team about how to improve the way
things are done and is able to make process or patient care improve-
ments fairly quickly. He also appreciates that the center's staff con-
tacts him directly with a text or email to seek clarification about the
care of a patient or to inform him of changes to the surgical schedule.
That doesn't happen at the local hospital, where messages are passed
through numerous channels and sometimes lost in the process.
There are business school administrators who have no knowledge
about the healthcare side of surgery and nurses who have advanced
their way to the corner office. Both can be effective managers, but Dr.
Gauta prefers working with someone who can step into almost any role
on the clinical side of the facility. "That kind of mental and physical
background translates to a professional expertise that can't be gained
from any book or business course," he says.
Finding a balance
Get to know your docs, what they like, what makes them tick, and do
your best to accommodate them and make them feel special. Whether
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