A true story from a client: “It was really a throwaway note. The corporation I worked for sent out a solicitation for “Hero of the Day.’ Narratives about co-workers who had “Saved the Day” for a patient. Well, my staff “Saved the Day” for our patients all the time. They were the very, very best. So I dashed off few quick sentences about one...
Read MoreI once got lost in Rome using an English language digital map. No matter how much I turned the damned thing, no matter how much I tried to match the names, I couldn’t find that damned Coliseum. Then I realized I had pulled up a map of Rome—Texas. Practicing medicine within a large organization is the same. The roadmap I had created as a resident in an academic medical...
Read MoreLexicon of Value “Bad Fit” A situation where the employee cannot or will not generate the value required by their boss—usually arising out of an incomplete understanding by the employee of the true nature and role of their employment. e.g. “Dr. Smith was a bad fit. She couldn’t see the number of patients every day that she needed to.” e.g. “Dr. Jones was a bad fit. he...
Read MoreIn our previous discussions about clinicians pleasing supervisors and rewarding constituents you probably noticed there was one group conspicuously missing. Patients. That’s because patients don’t have a place in the organizational hierarchy of a healthcare delivery organization. They’re your work product. They’re a tool. A tool through which you’ll generate value. Some value you’ll send up to your boss. Some you’ll pass...
Read MoreThere’s nothing wrong if you want to work within corpmed—as long as you’ve decided to do so intentionally and did not just sleep-walk into your position. And because I’m concerned about your personal and professional success, I’ve urged you to read the book “The Dictator’s Handbook“—a roadmap for your survival in any large organization and a fascinating, impactful read. The book draws on published, peer-reviewed research, using governments and large businesses...
Read MoreSerena was a puzzle. And the source of her superpower was surprising. It lead me to write these words to share her wisdom. I first met Serena in her office. A physician, a generation younger than myself, she was smart and pleasant and friendly. And content. Very, very content. For that matter, those same words described her office and her staff....
Read MoreSo you’ve decided to practice medicine as an employee of a large organization. It’ll be unlike anything you’ve ever done before. Sure, your residency was provided within a large organization—but you were a trainee. You were protected. Even if your life experience covers working in a large business, you’ve never played the key role that you will now—clinician, the driver of revenue and cost. No, working as an important employee...
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