Physician Engagement at WellStar Kennestone Hospital (Part 3 of the Series)

Robert Jansen, M.D., VP of Medical Affairs

The 2010 Medical Staff Engagement Survey is well underway and will continue through June 7. I would like to thank each of you who have already participated and I look forward to viewing your feedback. Your input is extremely important and provides insight and data which will help fuel our 2011 planning sessions.

As you may recall from my previous articles, I reviewed a list from Engaging Physicians by Dr. Stephen C. Beeson where he spoke of different stages to improve engagement. I have already covered three of these topics, including:

• Communicate Organization Vision and Goals
• Establish Physician Confidence and Trust
• Training Physicians

The final two stages are:

• Physician Measurement and Balanced Scorecard
• Recognizing Physicians

In an effort to better inform our physicians of their overall performance, I now provide the medical staff with a “Physician Scorecard.” The scorecard allows physicians to view important performance measurements. Without these measures, it would be difficult for you or me to know if we are meeting patient expectations. The scorecard highlights areas which need more focus and allows physicians to see how they compare in relation to their peers. Lastly, these measurements connect back to the overall vision and goals of both Kennestone and the System.

In Dr. Beeson’s book, he mentions recognition alone is not the answer but that it works nicely with the other stages he discusses. Recognition can be communication via e-mail, a letter noting an accomplishment or a verbal “thank you.” It is important to note that recognition can be contagious and recognition is important to all physicians. Recognition changes people, stimulates replication of behaviors and builds partnerships and trust. You will be hearing more about our efforts to provide more consistent recognition in the coming months.

I would like to remind everyone that you are welcome to submit stories to me to honor your team members in our Best of the Best program. The Best of the Best program is an opportunity for our physicians to be recognized for their great work and the exceptional patient care and services they provide each day. The Best of the Best celebrations are held on a quarterly basis.

In conclusion, Dr. Beeson separates these stages or steps in order to help us increase your engagement or satisfaction. While these are very useful, it is up to the team to work together toward a common vision to truly encourage this type of culture. The Strategic Initiatives Committee, as well as the other committees, (Ease of Practice, Patient Care, and Relationships with Leadership) continue to work toward improving your overall experience. Each of these committees has helped us continue on this journey, but with your feedback we can continue in this positive direction. I know we all want to meet our vision of delivering world-class healthcare and it takes the teams’ involvement to make this happen. I would like to encourage you again to be involved by joining one of our committees and by providing your feedback in the Medical Staff Engagement Survey. Your opinions are essential to Kennestone moving forward.