Transcript REFERENCE COMMITTEE I - American College of Radiology

Communication, Leadership and
Excellence
A Special Thank You to:
Dr. David M. Yousem, M.D., M.B.A. Professor, Department of
Radiology Vice Chairman of Program Development Director of
Neuroradiology Johns Hopkins Hospital
for allowing the use of his material/content in this presentation
Dr. Yousem’s online lecture series can be viewed at:
http://webcast.jhu.edu/mediasite/Catalog/pages/catalog.aspx?catalogI
d=7e18b7d5-9c63-487e-aaf1-77a86f83b011
Dr. Yousem’s project was funded through an RSNA Educational Grant
Career Satisfaction
• Radiologists generally report moderate to high job satisfaction
• However, since 1998 the job satisfaction rate in radiology has
decreased (as did almost all MD providers)
– Declining relationships with referring physicians and
administrators
– Increasing malpractice litigation
– Increasing work volume… decreased reimbursement
– Less feeling appreciated by the healthcare system
Career Satisfaction
• Among physicians, job dissatisfaction is considered the major
contributor to stress, burnout, and failed professional and workrelated relationships
• Radiology is a complex system which has evolved to include
interaction between radiologists, radiology technologists,
administrators, referring physicians, and patients
• Consistent failure of communication at any of these
intersections can result in job dissatisfaction, coworker
disagreement, and even malpractice lawsuits
Career Satisfaction Prevents Burnout!
• Emerging radiologists must actively build skills to improve job
satisfaction, relationships, efficiency, and effectiveness
– “There is more to life than lifestyle”
• Hours + effort + salary ≠ lifestyle
• Finding meaning in your work
– Enjoying time with family and friends
– Maintain physical health with diet and exercise
– Religious/Spiritual health
– Mentoring
Basic Communication Skills
• In a conflict, try to consider the other person’s situation or
position
– Why is Dr. X frustrated at me?  What does the timeliness of
this test mean to her?
– Why is my spouse so demanding of me?  What pressure is
my family feeling as a result of my after hours research?
Basic Communication Skills
• Engage in active listening
– Seek to understand the other person before planning your
response
– Summarize the other person’s thoughts before advancing to
ensure you have correctly interpreted the message
Team Communication Skills
• What are each team member’s strengths and weaknesses?
What are my own strengths and weaknesses?
• What are the unique characteristics of the person I am
addressing?
– Shy? Lazy? Overly critical?
– Sub-specialized in the field I’m least familiar with?
– Is there a cultural or language barrier?
Team Communication Skills
• Difficult conversations
– the tone of communication (and the whole work environment)
can often be established by the leader
– attitude: “I am going to persuade you that I am right”  “there
are probably elements pertinent to this topic that I don’t know
and others that you don’t know… let’s discuss this further”
– attitude: “I don’t care why you feel this way”  “why don’t you
tell me how you feel about this”
Implement Kaizen
• Japanese for “improvement”
• Choose personal and professional improvement over stasis 
keep the razor sharp
• Improve your life balance
• Believe in yourself, and remind yourself that you believe in
yourself
Implement Kaizen
• Create a written personal mission statement
– It should inspire you and mobilize your unique abilities
– “To act as if I have nothing to lose, because in reality, there
truly is nothing to lose.”
– “To learn about and help others as well as myself.”
Prioritize
• Dr. Steven Covey in “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”
emphasizes spending more time in quadrant II
Urgent
Not Urgent
Important
I
II
Not Important
III
IV
• Actively focus effort on important tasks even when they’re not
pressing (i.e. maintenance of certification, financial planning,
creative innovation at your workplace)
Leadership
• The social process of enlisting others support and effort to
accomplish a common task
• It’s voluntary, you’re not just the “boss”
• Create a good plan for yourself and for your work
• Demonstrate effort towards the plan… with consistency and
confidence
• By setting this example for others to emulate, you are
disseminating the model, and creating additional leaders
Character
• Improving character is important to keep priorities in check
– Try to shift your focus onto other people  take a vacation
from yourself
– Find ways to donate your time or possessions for the benefit
of others
• Be respectful and considerate to those you encounter
– If this does not come natural at first, tell yourself “I will make
an effort to try and make someone smile today”
– Try first with a person you don’t know well…
Conclusion
• There are increasing pressures within the practice of radiology
that can lead to dissatisfaction, stress, and poor relationships at
work and at home
• Many budding radiologists are ill-equipped to effectively reduce
workplace stress and handle resulting conflicts that present in
their interpersonal relationships
• Recognizing the importance of dynamic self improvement will be
vital for the next generation of radiologists to build excellence
and leadership skills, both at work and in their interpersonal
relationships
References
• Kelly Horst, BA and Richard B. Gunderman, MD, PhD. “There is
More to Life than Lifestyle.” Radiology. March, 2006. 238, 767771.
• Yousem, David, MD, MBA. “Leadership in Radiology.” From the
Business of Radiology Series of Online Lectures.