1 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9
T
here are so many ways to commu-
nicate with staff — emails, phone
calls, text messages, snail mail,
intercoms, breakroom bulletin boards, you
name it — yet none of those methods reli-
ably relayed key information like schedul-
ing changes, snow days, meetings and
group events.
Our solution: a free smartphone app
called GroupMe. It's like a private chat
room for our 25-person group. It works on
every device — there are easy-to-use apps
for iOS, Android and Windows Phone — and you can even access
GroupMe messages via text.
Our clinical director posts the schedule for the next week on
GroupMe for all to see. It's also great for last-minute scheduling
changes, like the 3 cases our urologist wanted to add on New Year's
Eve. I used GroupMe to notify the team that some of them would
need to come in on a scheduled holiday.
The great thing about the app is that if you have a question about
something that was posted, you can always refer back to it. It's right
there in the app. You don't have to call or email somebody back. One
caution: use it prudently — for schedules or competencies or things of
that nature. Try not to have a lot of back-and-forth, because then peo-
ple get fed up and stop using it. Let's be honest, a 25-member group
chat can be extremely annoying.
Melissa Hermanson, RN, CASC, ACHE
Ambulatory Care Center
STAFF COMMUNICATION
Finally, a Way to Get Messages to Everyone
• GROUP MESSAGING GroupMe is a great
(and free!) way to communicate with staff.
Melissa
Hermanson,
RN,
CASC,
ACHE
Vineland, N.J.
leasa@surgerycenternj.com
