You’re a new physician. This could mean you are…
- completing your Residency or Fellowship;
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about to join an existing practise with a group of physicians;
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opening your own practice.
If this is you – CONGRATULATIONS!!
You are embarking in one of the most noble professions with the privilege of serving patients.
However, for all the amazing education and experience you’ve acquired to get to this point, there is one key aspect that is crucial in helping to treat, maintain and improve the health of your patients that is not typically taught to physicians … COMMUNICATION.
Communication is key when it comes to:
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minimizing conflict and staff turnover;
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getting everyone on your team on the same page to maximize efficiency;
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making connections with the unique needs of each patient.
If you’re not equipped to navigate these human and communication aspects of the practice, you’ll struggle in retaining staff, and delivering happy patient experiences.
It all boils down to your ability to build human connection through communication.
Human Scaffold exists for one single purpose: building human connections for exceptional health care results .
As a Health Care Leader, “building human connections” can come in the form of:
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working with admin / receptionist(s);
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other Health Care Professionals (physicians, nurses, pharmacists, etc.);
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communicating with patients.
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That’s why we created the Human Scaffold Method.
There are 3 pillars to the Human Scaffold Method:
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Self Mastery
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Team Management
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Communicating with Patients
It applies to any Health Care Professional (HCP) in any Health Care setting:
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an independent practice: a physician working with a receptionist;
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a small medical clinic: a physician working with a receptionist, nurse(s);
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a medium-sized clinic: physician(s) working with receptionist(s), scribe(s), nurse(s) and other HCPs
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a larger clinic or hospital: multiple HCPs working with numerous team members.
Regardless of the situation or setting, the common denominator is dealing with people. Co-workers. Patients. Care-givers. Pharmacists. Other nurses & physicians. The Purolator guy. The list goes on.
You have lived your life communicating with others, and I’m sure you do an excellent job of it!
However, being an HCP means that you will constantly be meeting new and interesting personalities. Dealing with a variety of behavioural styles. Confronted with emotional situations.
What is the main challenge with this?
You will constantly be scanning to determine how you will respond to each situation “in the moment”?
What is the drawback to this? IT’S DIFFICULT! IT’S TIRING! IT’S DRAINING!
Your brain is constantly scanning for ways to recognize a personality or behaviour that it recognizes. If you don’t have a system, then you will often go to a “default position”.
What do I mean by “default position”?
This could mean that you will respond to different behavioural styles or personalities in the same fashion.
Why?
Because it’s easy!!
Social communication is just like literacy. The more words you use, the better you can express yourself. It takes practise, in the form of reading and practising your writing in order to improve in this area.
This is the same with social communication.
ENTER THE HUMAN SCAFFOLD METHOD.
When you and your team work with Human Scaffold, you will learn:
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Self Mastery
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Getting people into the right positions to reduce conflict and turnover.
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Team Management
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getting everyone on your team on the same page,
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Communicating with Patients
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making connections to the unique needs of each patient, empowering them to better manage their health.
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How does Human Scaffold do this?
In 2 main ways:
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workshops (virtual and/or in-person)
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ongoing support over a number of weeks or months (virtual and/or in-person).
Ok, I understand… but HOW do you do this? What will I actually learn?
Human Scaffold does this by introducing validated concepts and proven mental models. This essentially creates a common language where you will be able to identify patterns in the behaviours of yourself and others.
We practise these concepts through scenarios that are relevant to your specific setting, using examples and language that are common to your workplace.
Why did I write this article, blog? Because this is a conversation that I have had with every one of my clients.
My hope is that this helped you to better understand what it is Human Scaffold does, and how it can help you avoid the challenges of staff conflict, turnover and connecting effectively with the uniqueness of each patient.
Maybe you know a colleague who could benefit from the Human Scaffold Method. If so… feel free to pass on my info.
If you’d like to continue the conversation, then give me a shout (mike@humanscaffold.com).