Shorr Solutions: The Podcast Ep. 55 – What Makes a Successful Practice Administrator?

TRANSCRIPTION

 

00:00:07:20 – 00:00:45:23

Mara Shorr

Welcome to Shorr Solutions: The Podcast. I’m one of the hosts. Mara Shorr, I’m a partner in the medical practice management company. Yes, Shorr Solutions. Who’s the other host, you may ask? Easy answer. That would be my father, our founding partner. Jay Shorr. Together, we now have an amazing team and clients across the country. Listen as we chat, converse, strategize and commiserate over life in the aesthetic medical industry.

It’s time for you to listen, learn, and be inspired as we help you kick start your practice. Because who doesn’t want a little more help? Welcome to Shorr Solutions: The Podcast.

00:00:55:17 – 00:02:05:11

Mara Shorr

Hello, and my name is Mara Shorr. I am one half of Shorr Solutions. We are going to dive right in. There are quite a few things going on in the world today and we’re seeing more and more burnout than ever before. So we are going to talk today about the top tips to reducing provider and staff burnout. So let’s go ahead and get started.

I always like to kick things off with one thing in particular. Medicine is a business. And so with every lecture that we give, with every conversation we have with one of our clients, it’s always incredibly important to remember that first and foremost, medicine is a business and it is a science. Medicine is a way to heal the sick and the injured in our industry.

It’s a way to keep patients looking young and beautiful. But medicine is still a business, and so we want to make sure that above all, we are running our medical practices. Yes, we know that we call them practices, but they are businesses and we want to make sure that we’re running them as such. So tip number one, you want to make sure that you are driving your to do list.

00:02:05:11 – 00:03:21:01

Mara Shorr

And quite honestly, your to do list isn’t driving you. Now we want to make sure that you go in every day having your to do list organized in a way that works for you. For some people, it’s an electronic to do list. For some people it is pen and paper. I’m fully going to admit I do both. But you want to make sure you know what your priorities are each and every day that you prioritize accordingly.

So what are your A priorities? Your B priorities and your C priorities? Jay always taught me growing up that, quite honestly, your C priorities are never… You’re just not going to see them, right or not, They’re probably never going to see the light of day. So we need to be honest about what is that A, B and C, priority. C priority being if it happens, it happens.

And if it doesn’t, you’re going to be okay with that. That being said, what are some of the ways to make sure that your other priorities are getting done? That they’re truly priorities, but you need some help? Okay. That’s one of your tips really to reducing provider burnout and delegation. Now, whether we’re looking at insurance claims and billing for those that still accept insurance, Yes, we know that there’s some of you out there that still do things like social media postings serving as the patient care coordinator yourself, doing all of the above in one position.

00:03:21:03 – 00:04:30:15

Mara Shorr

I see. So many practice owners and so many managers, so many mid-level providers, so many people that truly believe the only way that this is all going to get done well is if I do it myself. That’s not true, because you are only one human being so truly making sure you have a team that you can count on.

Now, whether that is internal team, I see one of the biggest issues right now is staffing throughout our entire country, throughout the entire world, where it’s really it’s been deemed as the great resignation. And so with staffing being such an issue, if these are things that you were not able to delegate to somebody in-house inside your practice, this is when you’re able to look at a third party company.

So look at a billing company, look at a really great marketing company that’s able to personalize your social media in a way that still makes it authentically you look at a different way to i.e. have a patient care coordinator. But what third party systems can you put into place for that patient care coordinator to set them up for success?

00:04:30:17 – 00:05:45:03

Mara Shorr

You cannot do it all as one person. And so we want to make sure that you’re looking at that. That being said, create a cohesive team so that they aren’t the ones that are contributing to your burnout. And we see this in so many different places where your team members are the ones that actually are causing more and more burnout for you.

Your team should be A given the tools that they need in order to succeed if they aren’t doing what they need to do, ask them. Quite honestly, How can I help you succeed? Okay, it’s we’re coming back to some of the leadership components. Take the time to sit down and meet with them. And if you give that little bit of care upfront, not the little bit of care, that if you’re giving them that extra care upfront, then you are going to allow them to blossom just like a flower.

For those of you that are gardeners out there, you know that when you first plant a plant you need to water it a whole heck of a lot more than when that plant is really when that tree is grown, when that really sturdy plant is is good to go, then it is able to succeed on its own much more and requires less handholding.

00:05:45:05 – 00:06:59:14

Mara Shorr

So we want to make sure that you have a cohesive team that works together. They work well with each other. They work well with you, they work well with the practice. So we want to make sure that they are not part of your stress. If they are part of your stress. And quite honestly, we need to start looking for new team members.

Now, tip number four, take a break from technology. Once you have a strong team in place, it is okay for you personally to take a step back from technology because we want you to create a plan for who will help with that cross coverage. So who is going to be responding to patient emails and patient leads? So whether that’s email, phone, text, a third party site, social media, etc., who’s going to respond to that so that you are not the only one that’s able to do that?

I encourage you as the provider yourself, you should not be the only person that is handling staff issues. You should have someone in a management position, whether that’s an office manager, a practice administrator, etc., have somebody in that position that’s able to handle your staffing issues as well. This can be somebody that also functions in another role, but you want to make sure you have this person in place.

00:06:59:16 – 00:07:59:17

Mara Shorr

In addition, who is going to handle the odds and ends of things such as and these are things you want to think of now, who on your team is able to answer false alarms from an alarm company, a fire company, a phone company, etc.? You should not be the one that is putting out literally and figuratively, all of these fires.

And so I encourage you to roll this into someone else’s job description that you know and trust so that you are able to step away because this is something that can absolutely be delegated. Now, tip number five, as we’re talking about teamwork and we’re talking about reducing burnout because a good team is truly going to help you reduce burnout.

That’s why we really make sure to focus on this. So tip number five, know what your team values. You know that I always like to refer to them as your team. I don’t truly tend to use a whole lot the words employees or staff. I tend to really love to use the word team. We use that with our team as well.

00:07:59:18 – 00:09:01:23

Mara Shorr

So we always say with Team Shorr Solutions, we do that with our clients and that is absolutely for us. It’s been in game changer as well because your team will then think about themselves, each other and you as a team who is the leader of the team, we joke all the time. Jay is our company dad, not just because he is my dad.

He’s literally old enough to be everybody’s father for some people, maybe grandfather. But we think about teams and how teams are put into place to make sure that everybody on your team is treated with respect. They are able to be afforded some of that work life balance in place as well. And we’re not burning out the team members that we already have.

We know again that there’s an incredible shortage right now. So as the leader, we need to make sure to protect our team, just like we would protect our own families from burning out. What are the fair benefits that your practice is offering to help your team members from getting burned out? And what are you providing as far as self-care?

00:09:02:03 – 00:10:34:22

Mara Shorr

And that is going to look different for every practice. So we had some practices that might have people that are very heavily into the outdoors. So the when they do group retreats, they’re doing things that are outside, there are hikes, there are bike rides, they  are active. We have others that are more interested in in-office meditation and mindfulness workplace wellness programs. We even at Shorr Solutions, we include, for example, in our self care, a self care stipend for every one of our team members every month.

And it’s optional. It’s not giving to them as cash or in their paycheck. It is given to them as a reimbursement and it’s up to a certain amount. This can be for a healthy eating subscription plan. There’s a number of them out there. It could be to go towards a gym membership or yoga classes. It could go towards anything that makes them feel like they’re able to take care of themselves.

So we give them a self-care stipend. We want to make sure that it works for them. We can’t tell someone else what kind of self-care works for them, so keep that in mind with that. Serve as a role model for your team so that your team isn’t just told what to do, but show them what to do. You show them how respect looks.

If you expect them to wish you a happy birthday, for instance, if you expect them to check in with each other when they’re not feeling well because that’s going to build camaraderie, make sure you’re doing the same. Make sure that you’re wishing your team a happy birthday. That’s something we always make sure to do with our team members.

00:10:34:24 – 00:11:34:14

Mara Shorr

So our team is entirely remote, so our team is a little bit different, but our team members get a little special something on their birthday. So for some team members it’s flowers. For other team members, We have one team member, Jay i.e., that loves golf. Anyone that’s ever met Jay will know. He just could talk about golf all day long.

And so we got him golf balls with his face on them. He loved them, although quite honestly said that he is not really wanting to like, smash the ball with his own face on it. So we didn’t think that part through. But they’re a great, great novelty, but serve as a role model to check in with your team, smile at your team, Don’t hold grudges with your team.

Talk to your team. With respect, we’ve all seen a meme that’s going around right now that says the entire world is short staffed, every business is short staffed. Be kind to those that show up. I truly, truly encourage make sure that you are being kind to your team members and make sure that you are working with them. Show them what that respect looks like.

00:11:34:14 – 00:12:37:17

Mara Shorr

Don’t just tell them now this goes hand in hand. Tip number seven is removing the negativity from your office. Now, I have seen it all. This includes the yelling, the eye rolling the tardiness, talking back to each other as the leader of the practice. This should not be tolerated in your practice and you should not be the one that is doing this in your practice.

So you should not be yelling at your team, talking negatively to your team, telling them how awful they are, how poor of a job they’re doing. You can’t constantly be coming in late into the office and expect that it’s going to go unnoticed. Yes, it might be your practice, but your team will start to take notice and think that that’s acceptable for them as well.

So we want to keep all of this in mind. Now, if you are doing your part and your team members are not, we want to look at why that could be the case. And quite honestly, we see most of the time it’s because it’s tolerated. So are you tolerating the tardiness, the talking back, the eye rolling, the attitude?

00:12:37:17 – 00:13:50:07

Mara Shorr

Are you tolerating this in your practice? And if you’re tolerating this in your practice, that needs to stop because it will metastasize and it will continue to get worse and worse. And we need to cut the negativity out of the office all together. It is time to bring in somebody that is happy to be there. Now, coming back to burnout, honestly, we love our jobs as entrepreneurs, as business owners, we love our jobs.

I love what I do. But you need another hobby. Okay, Work. It’s not a hobby. Work is work. And I’m not saying you can’t love what you do. As a medical provider, you should love what you do. Your patients come to you because you love what you do. Whether that is surgical or non-surgical. It is clear you’re here today because you’re passionate about your skill set.

That being said, you need something else. All day, every day at the same thing again and again. You’re going to get drained very, very easily. You’re going to become drained. So we want to make sure that you have another hobby. We were in one practice that we had a surgeon who kept a guitar in his office so that in between cases, if he needed 10 minutes, 20 minutes just to play his guitar so that he could unwind.

00:13:50:07 – 00:15:04:04

Mara Shorr

He loved playing classical music on his guitar, so that was something that he did. We had some clients that absolutely love their cars. Whether it’s tinkering with their cars, getting really great fancy car, you know, just driving is their hobby. Some are incredibly active. So it’s water sports and wakeboarding, whatever that looks like, whatever your hobby looks like, get a hobby.

It’s going honestly to keep you in check when it comes to burnout is taking that time in between cases and between patients at the beginning of the day, at the end of the day. Now, tip number nine be basic, embrace healthy habits, because that is what is going to be a game changer for you. So are you drinking enough water, eating breakfast, getting enough sleep?

Are you exercising? Are you moving throughout the day, not just standing all day just because you stood all day with your patients? Does it mean that you actually exercised and moved? Are you able to spend time with friends and family as the pandemic allows? As it is safe? There’s an acronym that somebody had once said when it came to feeling burned out and anxious and tired and just sluggish.

00:15:04:06 – 00:16:06:15

Mara Shorr

And they you know, they gave me the acronym, which is HALT H-A-L-T and they said to do it. Check in with yourself if you’re feeling those things, if you’re feeling that burnout about hungry, angry, lonely or tired. Okay, Are you hungry? Have you had water? So I actually have water in here, despite I had several cups of coffee this morning, some breakfast.

But now I’m. I’m with water. Are you thirsty or are you hungry? Have you had nutrients or are you living off of vending machine donuts? I love a good donut, don’t get me wrong. But you don’t feel your best when you’re not eating well. Are you angry? Are you frustrated? Whether it’s because of the pandemic, whether it’s because you are just frustrated with the general issues of the world, Are you angry?

Are you lonely? Have you checked in with with people that are close to you and spend time with the people that you truly love and appreciate and make you feel good? Are you tired? Are you staying up at night worrying about the business? Do you need more sleep? Are you staying up at night because you don’t get enough accomplished during the day?

00:16:06:17 – 00:17:25:12

Mara Shorr

What does that look like? So hungry, angry, lonely, tired. You want to make sure you’re checking in with yourself on these items. Tip number ten. When we talk about reducing provider burnout and teen burnout, automate as much as possible in your practice. So contract renewals, make sure you know when all of your contract renewals are coming up and you’re not scrambling at the last minute.

What does your weekly to do list look like? Keep that organized. That was one of the things that we talked about ordering supplies. How can you either delegate this or automate this and even ordering your groceries. Something that sounds so simple. We’ve all gotten a lot more used to it, I think, this past year and a half.

But what can you do that is going to help you automate and make your life easier? So with that, those are our Top ten tips to reducing burnout. If you liked what I had to say and want to learn more, if you want to learn more about how Shorr Solutions can help you in your practice, we always offer a 30 minute free consult with the practices that are looking to learn more and contact me if you have any additional questions. Thank you so much for listening to the top Tips to reducing provider and staff Burnout.

00:17:25:14 – 00:20:21:21

Mara Shorr

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So that wraps up today’s episode of Shorr Solutions: The Podcast. If we mentioned any quote, links in our show notes, be sure to check them out for the easiest way to discover your best solutions you can find them. Yeah. In our show notes.

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