Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1462389
30 PATIENT & CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE By listening to staff, we can identify some pet peeves or roadblocks that can be removed in order for a more seamless delivery of care or determine something that can be provided as a token of appreciation for the staff. A Keurig and K-cups can put a smile on just about any employee's face. Providing managers and leaders with tools through focused educa- tion and training is imperative to a successful engagement culture. Empower managers to make decisions in their respective areas with the intention of contributing to an increase in overall engagement for the entire system. Accountability is also a critical factor through the engagement process. Rounding on staff is one of the most impactful minutes a manager or leader can make in a day. A lack of focus on people will lead to employees feeling as though they are on their own, without support or recognition, followed by a sense of not belonging. is can be contagious among teams and lead to decreased productivity and increased turnover. Layton Anderson. Chief Human Resources Officer at Jefferson Regional Medical Center (Pine Bluff, Ark.): Working in healthcare has always been about purpose and feeling like you are making an impact on people's lives, no matter what part of the organization you are in. at hasn't disappeared, but it has become harder over the past couple of years. e pandemic has made it difficult for many in healthcare to feel like they are making an impact, as the sheer impact on the health of the country has been dramatic, and healthcare workers have seen it firsthand. Public sentiment toward healthcare workers has also had its ups and downs during this pandemic, which also has caused many to question if it is worth it. e pressure in today's healthcare is to continue to do more with less. We are looked at like we are a manufacturing company and not like we are dealing with people's lives at their most vulnerable. We need to create a culture where healthcare workers are able to have a quality of life and still purposeful work. We need to find a way in our culture to allow our workers to recharge so they can find their purpose and encourage, recruit and train the next generation of healthcare workers. Ask most bedside nurses and other patient caregivers when was the last time they didn't get called to come in to work an extra shi, asked to stay later or to have to make a choice between family or a prior commitment and work. I bet they can't remember or can only remember one time. A better quality of work/life balance would keep people and attract them. Scott Dimmick. Chief Human Resources Officer at Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Health: e healthcare industry can tend to have a culture that is considered to be formal, traditional, mechanistic, bureaucratic and maybe even a little stodgy (a technical term for boring). is can be illustrated by how the leaders dress, the preferred communication styles, the pace of change, the structures, policies, committees and control mechanisms, to name a few. Now enter the millennial generation into the workforce — but they are not only entering the workforce, they now represent the largest generation in the workforce, and they will make up the majority of the workforce within this decade. Not surprisingly, the millenials prefer workplace cultures that are almost the exact opposite of the current or historic healthcare industry culture. us, the main change we need to make is to ensure the millennial generation feels welcome, comfortable and actually attracted to a culture they can relate with. Millennials value diversity and equality, empowerment, involvement (a respected voice in what is going on), flexibility (real flexibility, not just bid shis), formal professional development with planned (guaranteed) career advancement, all things technology and mobile, and organic cultures with much less structure. e baby boomers have dominated the workplace for decades, but that is no longer the case. e workplace demographics have changed, and we need to complete our cultural transformations and embrace the values of our modern workforce. John Tynes, MD. CMO at St. Joseph Hospital (Denver): I think that our biggest challenge is going to be restoring in our workers the sense that healthcare is a worthy calling. e past couple of years have demonstrated for all the world to see just how stressful it can be to be a healthcare worker, and many of our colleagues have unfortunately come to the conclusion that they are undervalued and underappreciat- ed, or that they are just not making enough of a meaningful contribu- tion to justify the risks and frustrations that they encounter every day. Additionally, these realizations have oen played out in a very public way — on televisions, magazines, internet news feeds, blogs, etc., which has likely also scared away many who might have pursued one of the many roles that they could have filled in the industry. It will require impassioned, articulate and active leadership to counter this trend. We need to find ways to guide our providers and staff back to the reasons that they got into healthcare in the first place, and to help them rediscover the fact that there is in fact no higher calling, and ultimately no better place to find a sense of purpose and value than in serving to restore and improve the health of our fellow men and women. Sarah Horn, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing and Operations Officer at Salem (Ore.) Health Hospitals & Clinics: One word that comes to mind is self-value. I think the pandemic has highlighted the need for an increased investment in our workforce. Nursing itself is a very giving profession, and the central product that nurses deliver in the care they offer is themselves. But what they don't do is take care of themselves very well. I think when it comes to nursing or any healthcare profession, we need to do a better job teaching them how to take care of themselves just as they do their patients. We bring empathy to what we do, but we don't bring empathy to ourselves, and the moral distress certain healthcare workers have faced has been pretty harsh, so I think it's important for us to learn how to encourage others to take care of themselves. ere needs to be a heightened focus on that going forward. James Heise, MD. CMO at Door County Medical Center (Stur- geon Bay, Wis.): We must create strong clinical-administrative dyad leadership structures so decisions made make sense from both the financial/operations perspective and from a clinical perspective. Tone-deaf decisions made by nonclinical leaders that directly affect bedside care teams (clinicians, nurses, techs) have a tendency to suck the life out of people working to directly care for patients. We're very fortunate to have that here, and it lends itself to a vibrant culture committed to taking great care of our patients. Alex MacLennan. Chief Human Resources Officer at Tahoe Forest Health System (Truckee, Calif.): We have to focus on pride. We must enhance the pride people feel for the great work they do. I meet with new employees in training, and the stories are countless of people who started their careers in healthcare because of a personal experience they had, such as a nurse who provided care to someone with a traumatic in- jury or a doctor that took the time to be compassionate and was moved by it. Many decided to push their careers because of those experiences. e last two years have been a roller coaster of emotion and pride and have had high points, such as the public shouting thank you to the "healthcare heroes." Now those same people are frustrated, and some take it out on those same heroes. Culture demands that we focus on pride and trust with the public and allow joy to come back into the workplace aer two exhausting years. ere are many ways to enhance pride; one of the easiest is to express gratitude for