Blog & News

Last week on August 12th and 13th the Practicing Excellence team gathered with partners and colleagues at our CONNECT Community Networking Event to learn from each other, exchange insights, advance organizational priorities, and build lasting...

In constantly evolving healthcare environments, physician leaders are key in managing change efforts, however, developing leaders across a large system can in itself be a difficult change to lead. Consequently, it’s important to recognize that...

Inspiring clinicians to engage in your patient experience improvement efforts is not only important, it is required to achieve results. Few healthcare leaders dispute this, but the effectiveness of getting this accomplished is inconsistent.  Over...

“I know you’re not a clinician, but I would like for you to formalize our Clinician Coaching Program and start shadowing and coaching clinicians at Sentara Medical Group.” I honestly thought I misheard this request from my director. I immediately wondered. . .

When organizational transformation happens in partnership with physicians, patient experience advancements can take great strides forward among clinical teams. At JPS Health Network this became a reality as the organization translated an...

March 20th, 2020 is National Doctor’s Day. Many organizations plan for a special recognition of their care team leaders by giving them a baseball cap, a thermos or a blanket with the organizational logo on it. These were the last three Doctor’s Day...

As physicians grow increasingly overwhelmed by the focus on their patient experience scores and online reputation, the need for shifting the conversation with toward progressive learning and supporting reward and recognition is more urgent than...

With both increased transparency and reimbursement tied to the patient experience, organizations have focused on improving outcomes for a long time. Despite significant investment, as a whole, the industry's actual improvement isn’t very...

Our mission is to improve the clinician experience through world class skill-building solutions that enhance patient connection, fuel team collaboration, and develop leaders who inspire change. With great excitement, we announce the addition...

The changes to healthcare—not just in policy, regulation, and payment but also the tectonic shifts in how physicians define, evaluate, report and are paid for care—can make us all feel like we’re on a runaway train. Alongside the runaway train are...

Jill Kruse, MD, doesn't see empathy as another thing to do, but as an essential ingredient for good medicine. Sure, many studies have shown that empathy is directly related to patient satisfaction, adherence to medical...

“You’re in good hands.” It’s a phrase often associated with patient care. We all want to be assured that we are being taken care of by the best possible person for the job. Paddy Barrett, MD, argues that the same sense of support is as important...

Phil Yphantides, MD, or “Dr. Phil” as patients often call him, shows us just how potent self-discovery and change can be when we find ourselves in a challenging situation. Being in a challenging situation you’re not exactly...

Spend a few minutes with Wendy Woods-Swafford MD., M.P.H., and you quickly sense just how deep her commitment runs. For her, being a physician isn’t just about doing the job well, it’s more about the crucial role a physician...

One of the first things Nick Fustino, MD, said to us was, “The first time I heard the term ‘patient satisfaction,’ I thought wait a minute…I have to cure cancer and make patients happy while I do it?” Is there a physician in...

The increased chatter we’re all hearing around engaging patients (AKA: “How in the world can I get this patient to take control of their own care -- lose weight,  stay on their medication, etc.?”) got me thinking: “Where does patient...

Of course, patients want a clinically capable physician, but have no idea what we are really doing on the technical side. “I initially thought if I just focused on the medical part – their specific diagnosis and treatment...

The more we listen to our clinician colleagues around the country, the more we’re hearing how many feel isolated, even lonely. In the research we recently conducted, one in three clinicians report a lack of collegiality in...

For this Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, a physician’s technical skills matter greatly. But Dr. Rokes believes there is much more to practicing medicine than what’s in the textbooks. "We have to know what we're doing, but...

One of our members said it best, "As physicians, we are used to being in the role of rescuer and it can be difficult to ask for help, but we are less effective in our jobs if we are struggling. As they say on airplanes, put...

Many clinicians seemingly develop an almost instantaneous allergic reaction to the term “resiliency training,” while others seem to find great utility in the effort. Aside from the polarizing terminology, discussing how to build resiliency is...

Successful leaders often talk about how the first person you should lead is yourself. But, what does that actually look like and how can this help clinicians lead teams more effectively?  Winston Churchill said, ”If you seek to lead, invest 50% of...

Learn how Chris Rumery, MD realized he was missing out on true connection to patients and what transformed in him when expressing empathy with patients became a priority.  "I am struck with the gap in our   knowledge and in our training for ...

Because of our members, the Clinician Experience Project community has taken on a life of its own. Countless phrases such as, “I will try this,” "I hadn't really thought about . . . ,” “I need to remember  . . .,” or  “this really hits home,” speak...

Paddy Barrett, MD shares his insights on viewing your career as a job vs. vocation. A physician speaker recently claimed that the reason he wasn’t burned out was because he looked at being a physician as a job rather than a vocation....

For Ed Paul, MD, practicing and teaching medicine isn’t a job. It’s not even a career: It is a calling. Sir William Osler said, “We must promote compassion, courage, and wisdom among our physicians.” We believe Osler might have had Dr. Paul in mind...

Paddy Barrett, MD shares his insights on balancing the work of medicine and the art of medicine. "I know I still care about my patients, but I'm not sure if I love practicing medicine." Unfortunately, many physicians share your sentiment. It’s...