Ok I admit it, I am a polly anna. I like to see life’s hassles as opportunities and life’s crap as a small price to pay for the great stuff every day. So tonight as I sit here with a glass of wine and 40 charts to sign off I have to admit a little feeling of defeat creeping in.
This morning I walked into the office 30 minutes late due to an early meeting that took longer than expected only to find nine (count em 9!!) patients either in rooms or doing paperwork in the lobby. YIKES! I knew there were three on the schedule from 9-930 and I had told one child to come in but since I hadn’t mentioned this fact (or my meeting) to my staff they went ahead and told others to come on over that needed to be seen. Meanwhile, as I stroll into the lab to fire up my computer, who is standing there but Frank, my architect, whom I adore but honestly couldn’t even spare a minute to say hello to. He was there to show me my final build out bill (and presumably get paid) but I couldn’t even give him the time of day let alone a check! He said he would wait, which I discouraged knowing what nine (count em 9!!) people already waiting meant for my morning flow. But he waited, undeterred as I scrambled in and out of rooms, trying not to seem as rushed as I felt, trying really hard to give each patient the time and attention she needed but I must say, there weren’t too many smiling faces leaving the office until around noon when I had finally almost gotten caught up. Discouraging…..Frank left at some point (poor guy, literally and figuratively) and Maria was convinced she would get no lunch. Lucky for me she remained chipper and kept a smile on her face.
By lunch I had dug myself out of the hole and then came the afternoon onslaught. It was a very busy afternoon too but the flow was much better starting out on time.
When I started this new venture, one of my main goals was to stay on time and have truth in scheduling. I have been pretty good on the time thing until this morning but the scheduling needs some tweaking which I will work on in September when things will be a bit calmer. I am on the right track but not there yet. Hang in there with me on days like today and know that I learn from my experiences and with good efforts the same bad day won’t happen twice!
Who knew that the Total Quality Improvement or Six Sigma or whatever it is called nowadays actually lives and breathes!
Change, adapt and keep the faith and each day will be your best!
Molly O’Shea, MD Birmingham Pediatrics + Wellness Center Phone: 248 816 2558
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