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Schaffner revels in people, role as administrator by Cindy Abole Public Relations After just a couple of years, Clinical Services administrator Marilyn Schaffner already feels rooted in her job as MUSC Medical Center’s top nursing executive and administrator for clinical areas. She values her role not only for the every day challenges and duties in managing various clinical aspects within the state’s top academic teaching hospital, but for the relationships she has honed working with nurses, physicians, hospital staff and patients. It is these bonds that have helped to inspire her level of dedication and excellence in a facility that’s rooted in caring and service. Marilyn Schaffner “Working alongside good, dedicated people is my inspiration to come to work everyday,” said Schaffner, crediting the support and teamwork of the center’s hospital managers and administrators. “I’ve recognized now more than ever the strengths and weaknesses of our administrative and director group and value their support and faith in me.” A member of the medical center’s senior administrative team, Schaffner works alongside top hospital administrators and managers to help formulate objectives and priorities to guide the hospital staff towards a shared vision of service. “I’ve been pleased to work with Ms. Schaffner in her role as administrator of clinical services,” said W. Stuart Smith, vice president for Clinical Operations and executive director, MUSC Medical Center. “Her knowledge and experience as a health care provider have made her acutely aware of the needs in the clinical areas. She’s a pleasure to work with, and I’m pleased with the progress we have made in the clinical areas under her leadership.” Among Schaffner’s many responsibilities is the management of all human, financial and information resources for a number of the medical center’s clinical services departments, which include Nursing Services, Pharmacy Services, Laboratory Medicine, Therapeutic Services, Radiology, Radiology Oncology, Transplant Center, Outcomes Management and Research and Development. Having  adjusted to  her role  from interim to permanent, Schaffner has been no stranger to details when it comes to her leadership and support of her clinical staffs to ensure a high level of patient care. So far, her greatest challenge has been to continue providing the best possible levels of support for her staff, while maintaining a positive bottom line.  “We need to maintain and build upon our financial resources in order to have a future here which includes building a new replacement hospital,” Schaffner said. Schaffner sits on the institution’s executive steering committee addressing the new hospital proposals.  Topping her work agenda has been the handling of critical job shortages within the hospital. Schaffner has seen first-hand how this shortage of personnel can affect work staffs and possibly interfere with patient outcomes. She and her staff have identified specific jobs and positions that continue to be affected, both locally and nationally. These include staff shortages in nursing, radiation technology, lab technology and respiratory therapy. Although the industry has reported a shortage among pharmacists, MUSC has managed to fill and maintain its job quotas in this area, according to Schaffner.  “We’re trying to be more creative in how we encourage men and women of all ages to consider jobs in the health care fields,” Schaffner said.  Some of this has been done by focusing on scholarship development and partnerships. We have partnered with Trident Technical College to provide six weeks of training for men and women entering the health care field as clinical associates. We have expanded this program to include student nurses at MUSC College of Nursing. In turn, it is hoped that through this experience, the student nurses become familiar with their duties, while getting to know the staff. This early experience and opportunity for socialization is valuable as nursing graduates enter the workforce and consider their job options, she said.  “Our goal is to encourage graduates so that once they have completed school, they will consider MUSC as a potential  employer,” Schaffner said. “So far, it has truly been a successful partnership.” She has recently been invited by College of Nursing Dean Gail Stuart, Ph.D., R.N., to participate in the college’s strategic planning process. As the hospital’s chief nursing executive, Schaffner hopes to create new opportunities and innovative partnerships that will lead to more valuable recruiting collaborations that will support the medical center. “Ms. Schaffner has spent much of her time in her first year focusing on our critical personnel shortages,” Smith said. “Her innovative nature and creativity have allowed MUSC to respond successfully to these national shortages.” Schaffner’s success at MUSC began with her position as clinical director for MUSC’s Digestive Disease Center (DDC) more than seven years ago. A graduate of the St. John’s School of Nursing and Sangamon State University in Springfield, Ill., Schaffner worked as a gastro-enterology nurse specialist and nursing manager working at Duke University Medical Center and other staff positions in Illinois. In 1996, she earned a master’s degree in nursing administration from Duke University School of Nursing.  A published author, educator and accomplished speaker, Schaffner has served in many local, statewide and national roles devoted to her profession. She was president of the National Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, a member of the South Carolina Hospital Association Workforce Advisory Committee and organizer for numerous professional nursing conferences dedicated to her specialties. Today, she is active as an editorial board member and edits a regular column, “Leading the Way,” in the Gastroenterology Nursing Journal.  Schaffner was tapped with the interim administrator position replacing departing hospital administrator Pam Cipriano, Ph.D., in November 2000. Her first task was commissioning a clinical services retention committee, a group composed of nursing managers and key clinical services staff members who actively discuss workplace policies, issues and strategies affecting retention at the medical center. The committee helps identify and define significant priorities and strategies to guide the medical center towards retention of its staff. “Marilyn has energized the center’s management team,” said Betts Ellis, Institutional Relations administrator. “She is a good listener and involves others in the problem solving. She is an advocate for building trust by developing respect. Under Marilyn’s leadership people can see things getting done.” As of today, much of Schaffner’s emphasis is focused on employee training, especially as JCAHO accreditation looms around the corner. During the weekly patient/staff safety rounds, it is not unusual to see Schaffner teaching or actively engaged in informal question-and-answer sessions with staff regarding safe patient care. She wants to meet her set goals of focusing on values and accountability by staying prepared through ongoing rounds, chart audits and talking to staff. “Upon my initial arrival to this job, it became important to me that our focus was to develop a shared mission and values among our staff,” Schaffner said. “Today it has evolved to be a team that is aware of these key points by practicing patient and staff safety everyday. It is also an important focus in our ongoing leadership training. All of this is part of a culture to coordinate goals that have us moving in the right direction.” Despite a hectic schedule that begins early and ends late, Schaffner claims that her secret to staying fresh in her job is how she balances her life. An efficient organizer and life-long optimist, Schaffner sets boundaries and rules for herself in order to make time for her family and work. When she needs to relax, she spends time in her perennial garden.  “I’ve learned in my half-century of life that maintaining a balance of work and fun has helped me to stay excited about work and life,”Schaffner said. “It’s what life is all about.”     Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.