Anyone whose had a loved one in the hospital knows the importance of healthcare heroes. Not only do they save lives, but they teach others how to take better care of themselves and provide emotional support during difficult times. It is no wonder that healthcare workers have high turnover and burnout rates. Therefore, as you prepare your healthcare workforce management strategies, consider implementing some added teamwork and support policies for these employees.
Consistent Communication
In healthcare settings, preventing miscommunications is vital because misunderstandings lead to errors that may be detrimental to patients’ health. Therefore, healthcare leaders must implement strategies that ensure clear, effective communication. For example, leaders should establish formal communication guidelines for different situations, such as sharing patient information among medical team members. This is where software that enables communication and scheduling between teams such as that offered at https://shiftcare.com/us/ can really come in useful as its detailed planning system can help to improve communication and reduce potential confusion and errors.
Leaders may also consider providing or promoting communication education that teaches the medical team members how to communicate clearly and ask open-ended questions. Training may also include learning skills and developing effective follow-up questions.
Healthcare managers should also clearly communicate the organization’s goals and objectives. Management’s expectations should be clearly communicated to each employee. In addition, your employees should understand all the support services you offer.
Cultivate Compassion
Every employee in a healthcare facility should show compassion toward the patients and their loved ones. Although each practitioner has a specific job, they should consistently reassure their visitors and ensure they have what they need.
However, compassion starts with leadership. Not only should healthcare leaders offer compassion to their patients, but they should also offer compassion to their employees. Therefore, management should ask the patients if they need anything and give them assurance that they will be supported throughout their time in the facility. In addition, leaders should actively observe their employees to ensure they have everything they need.
Promote Teamwork
Medicine requires collaboration among many specialized team members, as well as patients and their loved ones. Therefore, team goals should be clearly outlined and reviewed frequently. Teams should have consistent documentation and communication guidelines. They should adopt the same approach and language with their patients. They should foster the same environment and service delivery strategies.
Effective teamwork also requires complete teams. Therefore, healthcare managers should ensure their teams are fully staffed. Staffed teams allow the employees to focus on their part of the team’s goals. This allows leadership to maximize human capital while preventing overworked employees.
Team-specific goals may include efficiently using resources, education requirements and productivity. Focusing on growth encourages the employees to remain focused and committed to the organization. It also encourages them to review and stretch their career goals. When the employees are focused on their team and personal growth goals, they provide more efficient and effective serviced to the patients, which improves their satisfaction.
Healthcare personnel are valuable. They not only treat patients, but they also provide comfort to patients and their loved ones. Despite the steady increase in medical service demands, these employees must still deliver exceptional patient care, reduce waste and maintain patient records. Therefore, healthcare leaders should seek out ways to ease the burden on their workers.