8 •
O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0
L
eadership at our facility
believes in hiring the best
people possible — then let-
ting them do their jobs. To make
this happen, we don't employ tradi-
tional pecking orders or a typical
hierarchical structure. Medical reps
talk to our surgical techs if they
want to sell us something, and sur-
geons talk to the techs if they want
us to buy something. We think cen-
tral sterile techs know what's need-
ed in the OR, so they're in charge of
ordering supplies. We make sure
our nurses rotate throughout the
facility to break up the monotony of
working in one place. Our pre-
admission staff member has the
autonomy to call a surgeon's office
to cancel a case if they notice some-
thing worrisome about a patient.
Our radiology tech performs admin-
istrative tasks, and, at the end of the
day, our medical assistant provides
an extra set of eyes on the next
day's charts.
Leadership still makes the final
calls. Ultimately, however, their job
is to support the staff, not to have a
support staff. Having employees
telling leadership what's needed,
instead of staff being told what to
do from the top down, gets every-
one invested, makes for happier
employees and results in better clin-
ical outcomes.
Joel Biskup
AUA Surgical Center
Amarillo, Texas
jbiskup@amarillourology.com
GROUP EFFORT
Build a Team Full of Leaders
Ideas Work
P r a c t i c a l p e a r l s f r o m y o u r c o l l e a g u e s
That
EQUALLY INVESTED Blurring the lines of typical job responsibilities creates a sense of ownership among staff.
Joel
Biskup
Do you have an
Idea That Works
you'd like us to feature
in a future issue?
Send it to
ideas@outpatientsurgery.net