ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

6 Tips to Keep Staff Meetings on Track

by Cheryl Alkon • September 18, 2016

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

It all started with a text.

You Might Also Like

  • 9 Tips For Surviving the First Year of Medical Residency
Explore This Issue
September 2016

Marguerite Wood, the practice administrator of ENT of Oklahoma, based in Lawton, Oklahoma, saw a text asking about any openings in her office. The young daughter of a friend of a friend was experiencing ear pain.

“They had gone to the emergency room, but the ER doctor there wanted them to see an ENT instead,” said Wood. “We were completely full that day, and the mom wasn’t giving any details about the ER visit.” Instead, Wood and the staff nurses asked questions about how long the pain had lasted, whether the seven-year-old patient had been taking any antibiotics, and so on. After a lot of fact-finding, Wood was able to work with the practice staff to get the patient in to see one of the practice’s physicians.

The girl was diagnosed with extensive acute otitis externa that was “so bad, they couldn’t clean it out—she had surgery the following day to insert an Otowick,” said Wood. “The ER had never contacted us since the patient went there over the weekend and our schedule was full; however, based on the child’s age and acute condition, we were able to work her in as an emergency patient.”

Wood said that her practice held a quick meeting—known in their office as a “huddle”—to discuss the scenario; it helped the practice develop a plan on how to handle future emergency work-ins for other patients. “It was so we could bring a renewed awareness to the quality of care for our patients,” she said.

© Digital Genetics / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

© Digital Genetics / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

This is just one example of how staff meetings, whether fluid or formalized, can help establish new policies, shape the way an effective medical practice runs, and further refine how it can best serve patients. Useful staff meetings that don’t waste time are a great way to hear and convey information that can keep your medical office working at its best.

How can your meetings improve?

Tip 1: Tailor Meeting Lengths to Agenda Items

Staff meetings can range in focus. Some are extensive and involve the entire group of professionals who work in an office discussing a full agenda of items. Others are shorter, focused on a single topic, and scheduled on the fly.

“We have a regular staff meeting once a month, but in the back of my mind, I always want to not have staff meetings because they represent lost income, lost time, the potential for fast aggravation,” said Winston Vaughan, MD, founder and director of the California Sinus Centers in the San Francisco Bay area. “I don’t find them to be super productive for productive people.”

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Career Development, Departments Tagged With: physician practice, practice management, staff, staff meetingsIssue: September 2016

You Might Also Like:

  • 9 Tips For Surviving the First Year of Medical Residency

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name
    • Neurogenic Cough Is Often a Diagnosis of Exclusion
    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • How To: A Modified Endoscopic Draf III Approach for Dermoid Cysts
    • How To: Inferior Meatus Augmentation Procedure for Empty Nose Syndrome
    • Otolaryngology Resident Says Art Helps Her Process Ideas on Wellness, Burnout
    • Age-Related Hearing Loss Is Associated with Incident Dementia in Adults Over 60
    • COVID-19 Associated with Upsurge in Otolaryngology Publications

Polls

Do you think training primary care doctors through otolaryngology fellowships will help curb the influx of unnecessary visits to specialists?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2022 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939