After A Stressful 2020, Doctors May Need A New Mission Statement In 2021

 
After A Stressful 2020, Doctors May Need A New Mission Statement In 2021

     If healthcare providers and their office staffs fall short in providing patients the service and care they deserve, there could be a reason.

     Their practices may lack a finely tuned mission statement to keep everyone in the organization on track as they strive to make the patient experience – and the workplace itself – a happy one. Of course, it also might be that a mission statement exists, but is outdated or never quite worked anyway because it opted for impenetrable verbiage over clarity.

     “We’ve all encountered mission statements that missed the mark or were indecipherable,” says Dr. Jeff Kegarise, an eye doctor, clinical and business management expert, and co-author with his wife, Susan, of One Patient at a Time: The K2 Way Playbook for Healthcare & Business Success (www.theK2Way.com).

     “Some businesses don’t have mission statements, or at least they’re invisible to customers. While medical practices are a little different, they also are businesses and should make it clear what their mission is to both employees and patients.”  

     Beyond that, he says, the COVID-19 pandemic left the world in general and healthcare in particular reeling. So, this could be a good time for healthcare professionals to revamp mission statements to highlight the commitment so many of them exhibited in 2020.
But mission statements need to be more than just high-minded sounding words, Kegarise says. Actions need to be connected to those words and the mission statement should guide decision making.

     “Tying actions to the bigger mission is culturally reinforcing and powerful, if done well and frequently,” Kegarise says.
   
     Kegarise’s offices have a mission statement. It is: “We will protect, correct, and enhance eye health and vision by providing the highest level of care and compassion to patients.”
He likes that straight-to-the-point approach. But he also likes the connection that can be made by adding beliefs and behaviors which connect individual actions and how staff members treat patients each day to the mission statement. His practice calls this the “BB” card and every staff member has one.

     “We try to give praise to someone by telling them what they did well and how that is consistent with the beliefs and behaviors we espouse,” he says. “That is the kind of direct connection that builds culture. Tell me what I did well and why that is so important in the context of how we act every day and what we believe.”

     Kegarise offers tips on how other healthcare providers can create and make use of a successful mission statement:

  • Evaluate what already exists. Some offices may already have a mission statement, although it could need dusting off if it was penned a decade or two ago, fails to properly reflect the practice’s values, or is largely ignored. “If you don’t have a mission statement, then the good news is you have a blank canvas to paint your vision on,” Kegarise says. If you already have a mission statement, Kegarise recommends asking yourself a couple of questions: Does your practice’s current mission statement reveal your values? Does it clearly state them in a way others can understand?

  • Keep the mission front and center. The mission is something that should be referenced often during staff meetings so that it becomes part of the everyday routine. “Successful organizational leaders are the drumbeat of repetition of why we exist, what we intend to do, and how we intend to do it,” Kegarise says. “When you can connect individual actions to the overall organizational beliefs and behaviors, and your patients see care demonstrated consistent with your mission, then you have a living mission that guides the business.”

  • Add goals that help the staff accomplish the mission. Coming up with specific goals can add depth to how you achieve your mission, Kegarise says. His offices’ goals include such statements as “the patients' needs are our top priority” and “we contribute and give back to the community.” “The goals should guide people in decision-making,” he says. “For instance, when someone suggests that it is such a hassle to come in on a Saturday morning and asks why we can’t just see more patients during the week instead, we ask how that aligns with making patients' needs our top priority.”

     “A great mission statement used in a productive manner will align doctors and staff in one common purpose,” Kegarise says. “When your team is working towards the same goal with a mutual understanding of how their actions relate back to the mission of the company, you’re on your way to sustainable success.”

About Dr. Jeff Kegarise

Dr. Jeff Kegarise is a board-certified optometrist, clinical and business management expert, and co-author with his wife, Dr. Susan Kegarise, of One Patient at a Time: The K2 Way Playbook for Healthcare & Business Success (www.theK2Way.com). He has lectured for many years on clinical disease, and his management methods were recognized by The Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Kegarise is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry and completed his Residency at The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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