MUSC Excellence at the College of Medicine/UMALDI celebrates organization, faculty, staffby Jerry Reves, M.D.Dean, College of Medicine and Vice President, Medical Affairs The college and UMA held its first Integrated Leadership Development Institute (LDI) on Aug. 15, in partnership with MUHA and the entire university. It was a rousing success, and we thank the many individuals whose contributions to this and prior LDIs have clearly accelerated the college’s journey in its collective quest for excellence. The theme of the Integrated LDI was “Celebrate,” and we truly have many reasons to celebrate our organization and the people who make it great. Though it is not possible for all of the college and UMA to attend the LDIs, this brief recap will serve to advise our students, faculty, and staff of the key points of the day. Dr. Greenberg did an outstanding job as our master of ceremonies for the event, providing an impressive review of some of our progress to date. He recognized the contributions of students throughout the university, who volunteered 16,257 hours of their time last year to help our community—a remarkable accomplishment for which we are both grateful and proud. He also noted that the Chamber of Commerce recently voted MUSC as the best overall business in the Charleston area—a notable feat for a health care organization. In terms of pillar goal progress, we also have much to celebrate, as our adult inpatient and outpatient satisfaction scores have exceeded our goal of the 75th percentile for fiscal year 2008 (reaching the 79th and 77th percentiles, respectively). We have also exceeded our goals for employee and physician satisfaction, and though our inpatient admissions are static, our outpatient visits have increased by 7.3 percent. Dr. Greenberg proclaimed it Joseph Greenwood Day to honor the heart-warming success story of this pioneering young man, who made history here as the State’s first recipient of the Berlin Heart pump and a subsequent heart transplant. Joseph’s mother, now a tireless health care advocate, offered “a thousand thank you’s to the thousand people at MUSC who helped JoJo survive.” Dr. Andy Atz observed in return, “What Joseph has given to us, we have given back to more children.” This young man is truly a beacon, connecting us all to our abiding sense of purpose. Quint Studer, author of Hardwiring Excellence, served as our keynote speaker, with a focus on achieving “results that last.” He noted that we all have the capacity to become champions in our own way, stating that “you may become an Olympian at hourly rounding,” and noting that hospitals from around the U.S. have recently sent their top nurses to MUSC to learn more about our successes in advancing inpatient nursing practices. Mr. Studer reviewed some fundamentals of leadership, including the paramount importance of creating transparency and ensuring accountability. He offered guidance on effectively recognizing and responding to key employee behaviors within the domains of professionalism, teamwork, knowledge and competence, communication, and safety awareness. For example, low performers demonstrate little commitment to improving their own performance or that of others, are often passive aggressive with co-workers, and imbue a negative influence on their work environment. In contrast, high performers continuously strive for improvement, are eager to embrace change for the good of the organization, maintain a consistently positive attitude and outlook, and proactively address problems to find solutions that work. Studer urged us to focus the bulk of our efforts on those who are most likely to move us forward, rather than on those who may otherwise hold us back, reminding us that “what we permit, we promote.” We must align behaviors and processes with our established goals in order to build effectively on our success. AIDET is a straightforward but powerful tool for improving outcomes throughout the organization. Rounding for outcomes is another highly effective tool for managing change by enhancing communications, building relationships, reducing barriers, and ultimately identifying ways to enhance services. Leaders should seek out multiple points of view, find out what is working and what is not, solicit ideas for improvements, implement feasible solutions, and recognize and reward those whose efforts move us toward our vision of the future. It is vital for leaders to “follow up and follow through” on plans of action. We concluded the day by honoring a few of the many folks throughout the University who have demonstrated “excellence in action” through their tireless efforts to make MUSC a better place. We congratulate and thank Monica Gardner, Chris Carr, Cathy Wood, Mary Mauldin, Wendy Littlejohn, Teresa Kelechi, Karen Rankine, Shannon Ravenel, Mark Wagner, Nick Whichard, and Randy Trussell for their remarkable contributions, which serve to benefit us all. Friday, Aug. 29, 2008 |
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