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Episode #41: Looking Back and Into the Future

Introduction to Episode: 

We have thoroughly enjoyed hosting Healthcare’s MissingLogic podcast and we want to thank all our listeners for tuning in!

When we started the podcast, we wanted to reach as many healthcare leaders as possible and help them see that Polarity Thinking™ can be applied in almost all situations. So, it warms are heart when a listener leaves us an iTunes review like this one from RD4IPE:

“What a fun and refreshing looks at the healthcare system from the inside out! These ladies bring a critical perspective to the real issues facing healthcare professionals today. Putting on your polarity lens will change the way you see things where you work, where you live and where you play.”

We remain passionate about creating a movement to make Polarity Thinking™ mainstream in healthcare. We know it is needed to create sustainable change and believe it is a competency every leader should have.

After much reflection and careful consideration, we’ve come to the conclusion that while polarities are everywhere in healthcare, we can serve the healthcare community best by narrowing our attention to the personal, professional and organizational polarities that impact burnout and resilience in healthcare leaders.

In this episode, we introduce you to the Dynamic Balance Effect℠. This is a methodology we developed based on over 25 years of experience to help healthcare leaders trade burnout for balance and resilience in their work and personal lives and a methodology you will be hearing more about in future episodes.

As many healthcare leaders across the country support or prepare their organizations to respond to the COVID-19 crisis we will be publishing some episodes focused on personal and work environment polarities being experienced during this time. As we move beyond the current crisis, we will expand our topics to include polarities and other elements essential to a healthy healing organization.

Thank you for listening!


Email us at questions@missinglogic.com if you have any questions.  We may use your question on a future episode.

We’ve opened a private Resilient and Balanced Healthcare Leader Community in Facebook to provide a safe space for healthcare leaders to connect, support each other and share their experiences during this time of crisis. 

To join Click here.

Follow us on Social Media!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #40 Burnout Through the Eyes of an Occupational Therapist Featuring Erika del Pozo

Introduction to Episode:

While the burnout crisis is nationwide and impacts all health professions, most of the evidence reported in the literature is focused on physicians and nurses.  There is very little known or understood about the experience of other health professionals.

We are so happy to have Erika del Pozo on the podcast today.  Erika is an Occupational Therapist and the Founder and CEO of Joy Energy Time, a media and events company, that offers healthcare professionals content and resources around burnout, stress management, healthcare advocacy, holistic wellness and lifestyle.  

In this episode with Erika, she shares with us her personal experience with burnout.   

Erika sheds some light on what burnout can look like and feel like as well as some of the internal dialogue that can occur when individuals begin to experience the symptoms of burnout.

We also talk about the influence of the healthcare environment, the role of social support, and advocating for yourself.

We hope you’ll join us for this informative and enlightening discussion.

In the Episode We Discuss:

·         Burnout was not talked about in occupational therapy education programs

·         The experience of burnout includes experiences that are both common and unique

·         Symptoms can become “the normal”

·         The power of the question “Are you ok?

·         Over focusing on others to the neglect of self has negative consequences

·         Internal and external factors causing burnout

·         System and Individual factors need to be addressed to resolve burnout

Links:

www.joyenergytime.com

Podcast:  Burnt Out To Lit Up

Email us at questions@missinglogic.com if you have any questions.  We may use your question on a future episode.

We’ve opened a private Resilient and Balanced Healthcare Leader Community in Facebook to provide a safe space for healthcare leaders to connect, support each other and share their experiences during this time of crisis. 

To join Click here.

Follow us on Social Media!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes!   We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #39 How to Reduce Stress, Empower Your Team, and Cultivate a Healthy Work Environment in Times of Crisis

Introduction to the Episode:

As leaders during this global healthcare crisis, you are experiencing challenges you never dreamed you would face as a leader. 

Right now, when expectations are high, outcomes are critical, and you are being asked to take on tasks and projects you know nothing about, is the time to draw on and lead with your strengths.

Leading with your strengths and taping into the strengths of others can reduce stress and enhance feelings of empowerment. 

Not everyone has the same strengths and that’s a good thing!  What’s most important is that we recognize and leverage our own and the strengths of others in ways that enable us to individually and collectively achieve the results we desire.

It’s also helpful to know your personality type and behavior style along with those of your colleagues and family members.  This can give you insights into why you and they act or behave the way they do and why they may be responding to the COVID-19 crisis the way they are.

If we understand each other more fully we can engage with each other in more healthy and productive ways and support each other during challenging and stressful times.

We hope you’ll join us and consider how leveraging your own and other’s strengths, personalities and natural behaviors can be of benefit during these challenging times.   

During this episode we discuss:

·         Strengths Finders 2.0

·         Strengths Based Leadership

·         Four leadership domains in Strengths-Based Leadership

·         DiSC behavior assessment

·         Myer’s Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)

·         Our own experiences and examples to share

 

Teaching Points:

·         Be willing to look at yourself- Know thyself!

·         We are all different and that’s a gift

·         Help others know themselves

Links:

Strengths Finders 2.0

Strengths Based Leadership:  Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow

DiSC Profile

The Myers & Briggs Foundation

We’ve opened a private Resilient and Balanced Healthcare Leader Community in Facebook to provide a safe space for healthcare leaders to connect, support each other and share their experiences during this time of crisis.  To join Click here.

Email us at questions@missinglogic.com if you have any questions, we may use your question on a future episode.

Follow us on Social Media!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes!   We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”




Episode #38: How an Intentional and Heart Felt Thank You Changed the Lives of More than a Million Nurses

Introduction to Episode:

The World Health Organization has declared 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

We are thrilled to have Bonnie Barnes and Cynthia Sweeney from the DAISY Foundation on the podcast today. 

The DAISY Foundation was established following a family tragedy to say thank you for the compassionate, sensitive, kind care nurses provide. The DAISY Foundation provides a vehicle to recognize and honor nurses for extraordinary care.

The DAISY Award is a form of meaningful recognition of nursing care that focuses attention on what is good and right in healthcare and is a bright spot for nurses in a challenging and ever-changing healthcare landscape.

This is an inspiring episode that shines a light on how important intention is and how significant the impact can be when we act with intention.  We hope you’ll join us.

In the Episode We Discuss:

·         136,000 nurses have been honored so far

·         1.6 Million nurses have been nominated by family members, patients, and colleagues

·         In addition to the Unites States, 25 other countries participate

·         Nursing teams and nurse led teams are also recognized

·         DAISY is a form of meaningful recognition

·         How DAISY supports the health work environment as defined by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses

(AACN)

·         Nurses are honored across their career span- from students to lifetime achievement

·         DAISY nominations are a rich form of qualitative data and can inform healthcare organizations

·         Compassionate care has no geographic boundaries

Links:

The Daisy Foundation Website: www.daisyfoundation.org 

New Book: Shining the Light on All the Right:  Celebrating the Art of Nursing Around the World

Available on Amazon and also available at daisyfoundation.org\book

Email us at questions@missinglogic.com if you have any questions.  We may use your question on a future episode.

We’ve opened a private Resilient and Balanced Healthcare Leader Community in Facebook to provide a safe space for healthcare leaders to connect, support each other and share their experiences during this time of crisis.  To join go to our Facebook page @MissingLogicLLC and click the blue Visit Group button at the top of the page.

NEW!  We’ve been leveraging a polarity mindset to combat burnout and be balanced and resilient as healthcare leaders for over 15 years now.  If you’re looking to thrive as a leader and perform at the highest level in every meaningful aspect of your work and personal life this approach might be for you! We will be offering an online transformation coaching program this spring!  It’s intentionally designed to help healthcare leaders live on purpose, prioritize competing demands, and develop balance and resilience in their work and personal lives using our Dynamic Balance Framework.  If you are interested, CLICK HERE to join our early interest list and you’ll be the first to get all the details!

Follow us on Social Media!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

 If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #37 How to Elevate Your Thinking During Challenging Times

Introduction to the Episode

We are programmed at an early age to solve problems. We are taught to examine the alternatives and find the “right” answer/solution, to use our “or thinking” to choose either answer/solution A or answer/solution B.

In fact, we are rewarded throughout childhood, adulthood and throughout our professional development and careers for strong problem-solving skills. 

But it many instances, as noted by Albert Einstein, “You can’t solve a problem with the same level of thinking that created it”.

If you’ve listened to our podcast before, you’ve picked up on our core message which is not all challenges you experience are problems, some of them are polarities and to manage a polarity requires and thinking rather than or thinking.

In some situations, the challenge is both a problem and a polarity as is the case with burnout.  Burnout is a problem that needs to be solved but underneath the problem is numerous system level and personal polarities. 

As a healthcare leader, if you want to successfully address the challenges you face and achieve your desired outcomes, it’s essential that you develop the skill to differentiate between a problem and a polarity, so you can supplement your or thinking with and thinking.

We hope you’ll join us for this episode and learn this essential skill.

During this episode we discuss:

  • Differentiating between a problem and polarity

  • How polarities teach us to let go of our “rightness”

  • Challenges as both a problem and a polarity

  • The numerous polarities associated with burnout

  • The consequences of misdiagnosing a polarity as a problem (hint:  you will always be unsuccessful)

Teaching Points

  •  Not all problems are solvable

  • Polarity Thinking is not a replacement for problem solving

  • There is no right and wrong in polarities; both perspectives are right

You can go here to get the Questions to Ask to Differentiate between Problems and Polarities download.

Email us at questions@missinglogic.com if you have any questions, we may use your question on a future episode.

Click here to join our new free and private Facebook Community for Resilient and Balanced Healthcare Leaders. 

 

NEW!  We’ve been leveraging a polarity mindset to combat burnout and be balanced and resilient as healthcare leaders for over 15 years now.  If you’re looking to thrive as a leader and perform at the highest level in every meaningful aspect of your work and personal life this approach might be for you! We are launching an online transformation coaching program soon.  The coaching program is intentionally designed to help healthcare leaders live on purpose, prioritize competing demands, and develop balance and resilience in their work and personal lives using our Dynamic Balance Framework.  If you are interested, CLICK HERE to join our early interest list and you’ll be the first to get all the details!

Follow us on Social Media!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

 If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #36: Burnout Through the Eyes of a Dietitian Nutritionist Featuring Dr. Katie Eliot

Introduction to Episode:

We are so happy to have our friend and colleague Dr. Katie Eliot on the podcast today.  Katie is a dietitian nutritionist.

While the burnout crisis is nationwide and impacts all health professions most of the evidence reported in the literature is focused on physicians and nurses.

In this episode with Katie we discuss clinician burnout from the dietitian nutritionist perspective. 

Katie sheds some light on some of the unique causes of stress and burnout for dietitian nutritionists and for students just entering the profession.

We also discuss clinician burnout from an interprofessional perspective which is Katie’s “jam”.

In the Episode We Discuss:

·        What burnout looks like for dietitian nutritionists

·         How dietitian nutritionists and students are managing stress and burnout

·         Coping mechanisms

·         Interprofessional efforts to decrease burnout and stress

·         Recommendations to manage stress and burnout from an interprofessional approach

·         Stress is not a badge of courage 

Links:

Stress-induced Eating Behaviors of Health Professionals: A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Perspective – a NAM Perspectives Paper

Global Forum on Innovations in Health Professions Education titled: A Systems-Approach to Alleviating Work-Induced Stress and Improving Health, Well-Being, and Resilience of Health Professionals Within and Beyond Education.

Email us at questions@missinglogic.com if you have any questions.  We may use your question on a future episode.

We’re excited to announce our NEW Resilient and Balanced Healthcare Leader Community Facebook Group!  This is a private community for healthcare leaders who want to trade burnout for resilience and balance.  Click here to join now!

NEW!  We’ve been leveraging a polarity mindset to combat burnout and be balanced and resilient as healthcare leaders for over 15 years now.  If you’re looking to thrive as a leader and perform at the highest level in every meaningful aspect of your work and personal life this approach might be for you! We will be offering an online transformation coaching program this spring!  It’s intentionally designed to help healthcare leaders live on purpose, prioritize competing demands, and develop balance and resilience in their work and personal lives using our Dynamic Balance Framework.  If you are interested, CLICK HERE to join our early interest list and you’ll be the first to get all the details! 

Follow us on Social Media!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

 

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #35 What’s the secret to becoming a thriving and resilient healthcare leader?

Introduction to the Episode

It’s an important time to have the conversation in the healthcare environment about the reality of the healthcare leader given the national call to address clinician burnout.

Leaders are you struggling to manage your workload, prioritize all the competing demands and find time for your family?  Do you feel responsible for helping the staff but at the same time wonder how much more you can take?

In Episode # 35 of Healthcare’s MissingLogic podcast we talk about healthcare leaders taking care of themselves in order to support and care for their staff.

If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to help your staff and if you are not already, you may burnout in the long run. 

You are equally important. You matter. Sacrificing your well-being for the staff isn’t going to help them in the long run.  You will not be able to support them, if you are burnt out.

Healthy, thriving organizations start with the individuals who work in them, both leaders and staff.

Taking care of you first can result in you becoming resilient, having a positive sense of well-being, with more energy and enhanced productivity. Taking care of you is an opportunity to learn what it takes, to walk the talk and to role model those behaviors for your staff and your peers.  It is difficult to lead others, especially if you have not been on the journey yourself.

Begin your journey by listening to this episode and carefully consider how you can take care of you first and become a thriving, resilient leader.

 Episode Summary Points

  • This is a critical polarity to combat burnout

  • What it looks like when you over focus on others to the neglect of self

  • Positive outcomes of focusing on self

  • Negative consequences of over focusing on self

  • Making conscious choices

  • Potential action steps to gain or maintain positive outcomes of both focusing on self as the leader and others as staff

  • Vigilant monitoring of current state

 

Teaching Points

·         Not an either/or choice

·         No silver bullet or quick fix

·         Equal importance

·         Conscious choices

·         Engaging others to help monitor


Email us at questions@missinglogic.com if you have any questions about this topic!  We may use your question in a future podcast episode.

NEW!  We’ve been leveraging a polarity mindset to combat burnout and be balanced and resilient as healthcare leaders for over 15 years now.  If you’re looking to thrive as a leader and perform at the highest level in every meaningful aspect of your work and personal life this approach might be for you! We are launching an online transformation coaching program this spring!  It’s intentionally designed to help healthcare leaders live on purpose, prioritize competing demands, and develop balance and resilience in their work and personal lives using our Dynamic Balance Framework.  If you are interested, CLICK HERE to join our early interest list and you’ll be the first to get all the details!


Follow us on Social Media!

 If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #34 Managing the Tension Between Work and Home: Why You Risk Failure Attempting a 50/50 Balance or Work-Life Integration

Introduction to Episode:

Is there anyone who is not trying to manage the tension between WORK and HOME?

Do you feel the tension between focusing on your work and paying attention to what’s happening at home? 

We spend most of our waking time at work rather than home!  This tension between the two is NOT going away!

We highly value both aspects of our lives, that’s why the tension can seem so daunting or challenging

In today’s podcast we discuss the Work and Home Polarity.  This is a key polarity especially given the significant struggles with burnout that healthcare leaders and clinicians are experiencing today.  As a leader, if you want to make a difference and enjoy life this is an essential polarity to manage.

Who you are is impacted by both work and home.  You don’t walk out the door and leave it all behind, you carry your experiences in both environments with you. 

Do you often feel like you are being forced to make a choice?  To choose between work and home?

Maybe you feel the stress of trying to get to a 50/50 balance between work and home. Or you try work-life integration and try to collapse them into one entity to manage it better. 

Work and Home is a polarity.  It’s not an either/or choice.   A 50/50 balance and work-life integration won’t work.  To manage it well you must leverage the tension and energy between these two values.

Listen as we talk about what this WORK and HOME polarity looks like and how to leverage it.

Go here to download the Work and Home Polarity Map® and Reflection Worksheet.

Episode Summary Points:

·        This is a critical polarity for every person’s well-being

·         It’s a both/and choice

·         The two values do not integrate into one- this is not about work life integration

·         Recognize your preference pole

·         What it looks like when you over focus on work or home

·         Positive outcomes of focusing on home

·         Negative consequences of over focusing on work

·         Making conscious choices

·         Potential action steps to gain or maintain positive outcomes of both work and home

·         Vigilant monitoring of current state

Key Points:

·         It’s not an either/or choice

·         Both are equally important

·         Dynamic balance and conscious choices

·         Engage others to help you monitor

Email us at questions@missinglogic.com if you have any questions, we may use your question on a future episode.

NEW!  We’ve been leveraging a polarity mindset to combat burnout and be balanced and resilient as healthcare leaders for over 15 years now.  If you’re burned out or overwhelmed with competing priorities, overworked, stuck or lost and wanting to thrive as a leader and perform at the highest level in every meaningful aspect of your work and personal life this approach might be for you! We will be offering an online transformation coaching program this spring!  It’s intentionally designed to help healthcare leaders live on purpose, prioritize competing demands, and develop balance and resilience in their work and personal lives using our Dynamic Balance Framework.  If you are interested, CLICK HERE to join our early interest list and you’ll be the first to get all the details!

Follow us on Social Media!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes 

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #33: Building Resilient Healthcare Organizations from the Inside Out:  The Contribution of the Individual and Organization with Heather Graham, LCSW

Introduction to Episode:

We are so happy to have our friend and colleague Heather Graham on the podcast today.  Heather is a licensed clinical social worker and certified employee assistance professional.

In our conversation with Heather we explore the system and individual polarity in the context of clinician burnout, well-being and resilience. 

There are numerous stressors impacting clinician burnout and well-being these days.  Recently there has been increases across the board in interpersonal and generalized stress.

Heather shares how an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and services can support employee well-being.  These services were developed because of the understanding that personal lives impact professional lives and professional lives impact personal lives.

There are a variety of ways EAP can support both leaders and clinicians in managing the system and individual factors that impact burnout and well-being.  EAP services can provide opportunities to balance personal and professional well-being and at the same time maintain professional boundaries that support confidentiality for employees and leaders.

Heather says, “it [Polarity Thinking™] creates resilience, which is the ability to embrace the reality and work around and with it”. This is important “because healthcare organizations need to be resilient from the iside out and you can’t be resilient without the employees being resilient”.

It’s a two-way street.  Both the system and the individual clinician contribute. It’s not about owning the personal resilience of clinicians as a system and the clinicians can’t make the system responsible for their personal resilience either.

“You need to build resilience from the leadership down, employees up, from the inside out and outside in” says Heather.

Join us for this informative and thought provoking interview! 

In the Episode We Discuss:

·         Both/And thinking supports resilience

·         Types of EAP services

·         Healthcare stressors and trends

·         The impact of healthcare system acquisitions

·         Professional boundaries and respect

·         Types of EAP interventions

·         Second victim (secondary trauma) peer support system

·         Coping as a healthcare clinician

·         Employee engagement

·         System and Individual responsibilities

Links:

www.espyr.com

Email us at questions@missinglogic.com and we may use your question in a future episode.

NEW!  We’ve been leveraging a polarity mindset to combat burnout and be balanced and resilient as healthcare leaders for over 15 years now.  If you’re looking to thrive as a leader and perform at the highest level in every meaningful aspect of your work and personal life this approach might be for you! We will be offering an online transformation coaching program this spring!  It’s intentionally designed to help healthcare leaders live on purpose, prioritize competing demands, and develop balance and resilience in their work and personal lives using our Dynamic Balance Framework.  If you are interested, CLICK HERE to join our early interest list and you’ll be the first to get all the details!

 Follow us on Social Media

Subscribe & Review in iTunes 

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #32 Making a Difference & Enjoying Life as a Healthcare Leader:  What do you believe and what kind of choices are you making?

Introduction to Episode

“Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” – Mary Oliver

If you are listening to our podcast, it’s more than likely that at some point in your career path you chose to serve in the healthcare field, and you may have also made the choice to be a leader.  If you did so, again it is more than likely that you made that choice because you wanted to contribute to something bigger than yourself. 

As a leader you may have felt, or you currently feel, the tension between making a difference and enjoying life. 

Sometimes you feel the tension in response to pressures/circumstances, external demands, leader/boss expectations, and sometimes it can be the fear of missing out. 

This tension is often persistent and it’s real!  The struggle is real!

It’s real and persistent because making a difference and enjoying life is a polarity. 

If we aren’t aware this, we may choose to believe we have to make a choice between the two, in other words we think we can either make a difference or enjoy life. 

But when we recognize this tension as a polarity, we know it’s a both/and situation, we can then choose to make a difference and enjoy life!

Join us for this episode as we explore the Making a Difference and Enjoying Life Polarity and why it’s important to leverage this polarity and the unintended consequences if you don’t.

In the Episode We Discuss:

·         Stories as an influencing factor

·         Reaction vs. response

·         Intention and attention

·         Preference poles

·         Positive outcomes

·         Unintended consequences

·         Conscious choices

·         Dynamic balance

·         Supports

We also have not one, but two, resources for you!

Take a FREE Making a Difference AND Enjoying Life Polarity Assessment and see exactly how well you are managing the tension! 

After listening and taking the assessment, download the reflection worksheet to learn more and identify the actions you can take to be more dynamically balanced.

Links:

Click here to access the Making a Difference and Enjoying Life Polarity Assessment


Email us at questions@missinglogic.com if you have any questions about your results and/or this topic!

 

NEW!  We’ve been leveraging a polarity mindset to combat burnout and be balanced and resilient as healthcare leaders for over 15 years now.  If you’re looking to thrive as a leader and perform at the highest level in every meaningful aspect of your work and personal life this approach might be for you! We are launching an online transformation coaching program this spring!  It’s intentionally designed to help healthcare leaders live on purpose, prioritize competing demands, and develop balance and resilience in their work and personal lives using our Dynamic Balance Framework.  If you are interested, CLICK HERE to join our early interest list and you’ll be the first to get all the details!

Follow us on Social Media

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #31 Do you know what's in the landmark report on Clinician Burnout from the National Academy of Medicine? A behind the scenes interview with Charlee Alexander


Introduction to Episode:

We are so excited to have Charlee Alexander from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) with us on the podcast today.

Charlee gave us a behind the scenes take on the NAM Action Collaborative and the work that began in 2017 to not only address clinician burnout but to shine a light on the issue, improve our understanding of the challenges, and accelerate evidence-based solutions.

The development of the Action Collaborative enabled multiple stakeholders to come together around a common purpose and develop a systems approach versus multiple isolated approaches across a variety of professions and professional organizations. 

Charlee and the Action Collaborative were wise to recognize that they did not have all the information, ideas, or answers and they needed others outside of the Collaborative to contribute.  This resulted in NAM pioneering the development of Networking Organizations as unique way for leaders and organizations to contribute to the collective effort (see the link below).

The NAM Consensus Report -Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout:  A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being was released in October of 2019 and is considered as significant as previous IOM landmark reports such as To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System and Crossing the Quality Chasm:  A New Health System for the 21st Century.

Charlee states “I hope the report kind of anchors us to the systems change that we need to undertake and provides a platform for us to kind of set aside our differences from our different stakeholder groups and to see what the massive charge is a head of us and to know we can only do that if we work together”.

Join us for this informative and enlightening interview.

In the Episode We Discuss:

·         Development of NAM Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience

·         Networking Organizations

·         Action Collaborative Work Group Evolution

·         NAM Consensus Study Report

·         Burnout as a multifactorial issue

·         Systems Model of Clinician Burnout and Professional Well-Being

·         Polarities inherent in burnout

·         Job demands and job resources polarity 

Links:

NAM Action Collaborative

Networking Organizations of the NAM Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience

Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout:  A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being

 Follow us on Social Media

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #30 Breaking Free from Yesterday's Logic: The Essentials for Leadership Development, Innovation, and Future-Focused Thinking with Dr. Daniel J. Pesut

Introduction to Episode:

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence, it’s to act with yesterday’s logic”.  Peter Drucker

What logic are you using as a leader to address today’s challenges or to prepare for tomorrow?

We are so excited to have Dr. Daniel Pesut with us on the podcast today to share his knowledge and expertise regarding healthcare and nursing leadership and the different models and ways of thinking that are essential for today’s and tomorrow’s leaders. 

Dr. Pesut encourages futures work at the personal, professional, organizational, and planetary levels.  He provides resources and direction for this body of work through the Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership at the University of Minnesota.  

Dr. Pesut notes “Things are changing so rapidly and there are so many disruptions you’ve got to be able to anticipate things.  You can anticipate hard trends.  We need to have requisite variety.  We can’t use the same things we have in the past because the dynamics, people, situations, stakes, and the metrics are different”.

Are you embracing new models and innovative ways of thinking as you navigate disruption and rapid change? 

During this interview we explore numerous models and ways of thinking that are essential competencies for future leaders. 

This interview is jam packed with pearls of leadership wisdom and inspiration, so be sure to join us!

 In the Episode We Discuss:

·        Secrets to leadership according to Dr. Angela Barron McBride

·         Foresight leadership

·         Polarity Thinking™ as a universal meta model

·         Systems Thinking and Polarity Management

·         Future blindness and foresight polarity

·         Value in anticipation, alignment, and action

·         Characteristics of future thinkers

·         Foresight leadership styles

·         Students and the next generation as the greatest hope for nursing leadership

 

References and Links: 

The Growth and Development of Nurse Leaders (Second Edition)- Angela Barron McBride

Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership

Foresight Leadership: The Future of Nursing and Health

Navigating the Future:  A Personal Guide to Achieving Success in the New Millennium

Foresight Leadership Styles

The Secret Powers of Time

Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory

https://themetastabilianmovement.com/the-squiggle-sense/

https://www.thercfgroup.com/files/resources/an_introduction_to_the_competing_values_framework.pdf

https://thesystemsthinker.com/positive-systems-archetypes/ 

http://www.nlpu.com/Articles/LevelsSummary.htm

https://www.metaintegral.com/

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #29 The Tension Between Technology and Practice:  Where We Started, Where We are Now and What's at Risk without Both/And Choices

Introduction to Episode:

We are so excited to have Dr. Cathy Ivory on the podcast with us today.  She brings her expertise and knowledge in nursing practice, health informatics and research to the conversation around the technology and practice polarity in healthcare.

We’re talking today about the strong tension between the domains of technology and practice and how often one is disregarded or more highly regarded than the other.

“It is important to think about both [practice and technology] whenever we are making a decision about one or the other, that it is a yes/and, not an either/or” says Dr. Cathy Ivory.

Dr. Ivory shares her experience and perspectives on the healthcare technology journey, specifically related to the electronic health record, and what has informed and influenced our experiences to date.

We discuss change as well as change management and how we handle change as an influencing force in both practice and technology.

When design principles and governance are leveraged it enables the technology to support practice. 

Based on her experience Dr. Ivory says, “You can have practice and technology folks [on the governance team] but if they don’t have a little bit of understanding of the others perspective you won’t ever be able to come to a solution that is sustainable”.

Dr. Ivory shares a story of an interprofessional innovative fall risk approach as an example of leveraging technology to support practice. 

As an executive herself, Dr. Ivory shares how important it is for nurse executive leaders to understand baseline informatics competencies/principles and not abdicate the responsibility to be competent to make health IT related decisions.

Join us for this informative and thought-provoking interview.

 In the Episode We Discuss:

·         Most issues in healthcare are both/and issues

·         Initial development of the EHR goals were to keep the same as on paper and minimize any change

·         Paper mindset and the influence on duplication and access to documentation

·         Struggle with interprofessional care planning- what and who is the source of truth

·         Practice silos

·         Patient safety issues related to lack of interoperability

·         Influence of the documentation mindset- task or story telling

·         Users collectively influence vendor solutions

·         What is evidence-based use of technology?

·         Bedside caregivers are not educated on informatics competencies

·         Whatever is emphasized is where the attention is focused

·         Focus on practice first then technology

·         Practice doesn’t change quickly

·         The patient as part of the team

 

Links:

Ivory, C. H. (2019, January). Tug of war between practice and technology.  Nursing Management, 27(1): 7-9.  Retrieved from http://www.nursingmanagement.com

Twitter: @civoryrnc

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/cathyivory

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #28 How Leaders Can Leverage a Polarity Mindset to Develop Strong Teams and Cultivate Psychological Safety featuring Diane Hanson

Introduction to Episode:

Today we are talking about Polarity Thinking™ as an essential leadership skill.

Let’s face it.  Leadership is not easy! 

All leaders can use tools and skills to enhance their effectiveness, change the conversations they’re having and transform their leadership style.

We are blessed to have Diane Hanson with us today.  Diane has leveraged polarities in her personal and professional life for over 20 years and has a lot of wisdom to share with us.

“Once you understand and believe in the logic and predictability of Polarity Thinking™ you are able to move toward sustainable outcomes” says Diane.

Diane shares many stories of how she’s leveraged polarities personally, professionally and as a community leader. 

Polarity Thinking™ has shaped Diane as a leader and broadened her ability to leverage diversity and help teams get to deeper understanding and agreement much sooner.

“When you lead teams, you have a greater opportunity for success when you incorporate Polarity Thinking™”  Diane Hanson

Diane believes a great place to start practicing your polarity thinking skills is with personal polarities or ones that are simple and meaningful to you.  Look at what’s showing up in your life through a polarity lens and then examine your perspectives, preferences and fears to gather deeper insights.  

Join us as we discuss with Diane how leaders can leverage polarities to strengthen their leadership skills, enhance teamwork, and cultivate psychological safety in the workplace.

 In the Episode We Discuss:

·        The wisdom in historical patterns and behaviors

·        Use polarities to explore family patterns

·        Start with the simple challenges

·        Great tool for mentoring

·        Polarity terms can create shared language and understanding

·        Warding off either/or thinking

·        Build into the culture using the polarity language

·        Helping others understand and identify their preferences

·        Being vulnerable around preferences

·        Opening up to other perspectives

·        Cultivate psychological safety in your team

·        Drawing polarity maps in the moment

·        Modeling and hardwiring Polarity Thinking™ into the culture

·        Practice – find a safe practice field and build your tool kit

·        Be a champion- Be Brave!

·        It takes intention to lead with and leverage this skill

Links:

Twitter:  @DianeHansonRN

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-hanson-4a55934/

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #27 Who Is Practice Ready? Challenging the Status Quo in Higher Education and Examining the Education and Practice Gap featuring Dr. Susan Hanrahan

Introduction to Episode:

We are so excited to have Dr. Susan Hanrahan on the podcast with us today. 

We’re talking today about preparing the future workforce for the 21st Century.

As Dr. Hanrahan pointed out, we are already in the 21st Century, so we are already behind!  That’s why these kinds of conversations are so important.

Dr. Susan Hanrahan shares some new ideas about higher education and what’s missing and what’s needed to prepare the future workforce.

She challenges the status quo and shares some fresh, progressive and thought-provoking ideas.

There are two basic tenets that Dr. Hanrahan has believed during her years in practice and academia.  The first is reimbursement (3rd party) drives practice, which impacts workforce needs, and the second is practice should drive education

Healthcare market drivers and the reaction to those drivers in practice environments are significant but we also need to think about those factors in conjunction with what’s happening in health professions education to figure out what’s still missing to get clinicians practice ready

This represents the interdependent relationship between interprofessional education and interprofessional collaborative practice

Different higher order mental skills and cognitive capacities are needed to prepare the future workforce and advance the ability to be practice ready

“We are operating and teaching at way too low a level for the real world” Susan Hanrahan, PhD

Join us for this rich and inspiring interview exploring new types of education requirements, literacies and higher order mental skills that are needed to prepare the health professions workforce to be practice ready.

 In the Episode We Discuss:

·         Changing how we look at IPE and ICP and the intersection

·         Polarity exercises tap the broad perspective of groups

·         Assumptions about reimbursement, practice and workforce needs

·         Themes from landmark IOM reports (i.e., IPE/IPCP, patient centered care, team-based care)

·         Newer themes being experienced by practice environments (i.e., systems of care, health economics, complex

ethical situations)

·         Implications of neglect of broad practice representation in many NAM events/reports

·         The need to listen to what practice environments are like now and will become because of the rate of change

·         Lack of progress in general education requirements

·         Traditional general education requirements and changes needed for the 21st Century

·         New types of general education requirements (i.e., writing proficiency, scientific inquiry, leadership & ethics,

literary analysis)

·         Three new literacies

·         Four higher order mental skills that are value add to being “practice ready”

·         How does how we teach need to change?

·         Are faculty prepared for changes like these?

Links: 

Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (The MIT Press)

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #26 Perceptions of Leader Empathy and the Relationship to Patient and Clinician Satisfaction with Dr. Wilma Powell Stuart and Dr. Bridget Moore

Introduction to Episode:

Today we are talking about the role of empathy and leadership in patient satisfaction and clinician satisfaction.

As clinicians we are empathetic with the patients and the families we serve.

Who empathizes with clinicians?

There isn’t much known about how clinicians receive or perceive empathy from others.

We are excited to have our guests Dr. Wilma Stuart and Dr. Bridget Moore share their passion for empathy in the workplace as well as how they have combined empathy and Polarity Thinking™.

These scholars have done some interesting work around looking at staff perceptions of leader empathy in relationship to patient satisfaction and clinician satisfaction.

The results of their study may cause you to pause, if you are a leader, and do some reflecting.

Join us as we discuss what leaders need to consider when it comes to empathy for their employees and how leaders can benefit from and leverage Polarity Thinking™ in their roles.

In the Episode We Discuss:

·        Empathy as it relates to listening with your heart

·         Seeing the perspective of another person can be challenging

·         Polarity Thinking™ is a gift for leaders

·         Perceptions of leader empathy

·         The impact of technology on perceptions of empathy

·         Key leadership questions

·         How polarities can support leaders

·         Integrating Polarity Thinking™ into graduate programs for health professionals

·         Leveraging polarities as a form of organization evaluation

·         Life is a journey- map out your priorities and keep it in check

References:

Stuart, W. & Moore, B. (2018, August).  Communicating with empathy in a world of polarity conflict.  Nursing Management.  16-23.  www.nursingmanagement.com

Previous Related Episodes

Episode #3: Patient and Clinician Satisfaction: It’s not an Either or Choice

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #25 A Personal and Professional Story about Clinician Burnout and Resilience featuring Dr. Miguel Paniagua

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  

Introduction to Episode:

We are so excited to kick off the New Year with Dr. Miguel Paniagua sharing his personal and professional story about Burnout and Clinician Well-Being & Resilience

Clinician burnout is a unique and personal journey for anyone who experiences it.

Lives are at stake!  Not just clinician’s lives but patient’s lives.

We now know that poor provider wellness leads to medical errors. 

We are fortunate to have Dr. Paniagua to share his personal experience, hitting rock bottom and how it has informed his current work.

Professionally Dr. Paniagua is leading efforts at the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) to understand the stress of high-stake exams and the affect on student well-being, which he shares with us during the interview.

Join us for this enlightening conversation with Dr. Paniagua as we talk about the realities of clinician burnout and the system and individual factors that can support clinician well-being & resilience.

In the Episode We Discuss:

·      Polarities have similar principles to improv in that the answer is always…yes, and…

·       Polarities apply to home life and work life

·       The RENEW initiative at the NBME

·       Changing the system to be more amenable to wellness of the clinician

·       Burnout in healthcare is unique in that clinician health is directly related to the health of patients

·       Burnout is a problem with multiple polarities

·       What about faculty and leaders in addition to clinicians?

·       There is optimism and hope because future faculty won’t put up with current systems

·       Individuals need to change their mindset and we need systems that support it

·       There is a need to explore what is enough and what works

References:

100 Days of Rain article 

National Academies of Medicine Clinician Well-Being and Resilience Action Collaborative

Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being (2019)

A Design Thinking, Systems Approach to Well-Being Within Education and Practice: Proceedings of a Workshop

NBME RENEW initiative                                                                       

Previous Related Episode:

Episode #15:  Combating Burnout with a Culture of Wellness:  The Time is Now!

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode # 24 Directive and Participative Decision-Making:  Using a Polarity Lens to Discuss What’s In It For You and Your Team and What’s at Risk

Introduction to Episode:

How involved are you in the decisions that impact your work environment?  If you are a leader, are you engaging the clinicians in decision-making?

Decisions are made every day in healthcare by clinicians and by leaders.  Some of those decisions can have a major impact on the culture and clinical outcomes.

Today we are discussing the Directive and Participative Decision-Making polarity in the context of healthcare leadership.

All decisions should be made to serve the mission with an intention to have a positive impact.

The reality is, it is not always easy to do!  It’s a process, a dance between the directive and participative decisions and having clear boundaries.

Join us as we talk about this critical polarity and some of the realities faced when working toward this type of decision-making.

In the Episode We Discuss:

·      Definition of directive and participative decision-making

·      Participative decision-making represents engagement, accountability and ownership

·      Challenges with participative decision-making

·      Positive outcomes from directive and participative decision-making

·      Possible negative outcomes

·      Action steps and early indicators

Teaching Points

·      Clearly define boundaries on shared decision-making

·      Requires new ways of thinking, relating and behaving

·      Both directive and participative decision-making are necessary to support a vibrant and flexible organization

Previous Episodes

Episode #13:  The Role of Directive and Shared Decision-making in Person-Centered Care

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #23 Patient and Clinician Safety in Hospitals Today:  A Chief Nursing Officer’s experience and perspective featuring Liz Murphy

Introduction to Episode:

When it comes to patient and clinician safety, what’s keeping you up at night?

Are the clinician’s in your organization at risk?  Is their safety being threatened?

Patient safety has been on the minds of healthcare leaders across the United States ever since the Institute of Medicine published the landmark report, To Err is Human:  Building a Safer Health System.

More recently there is increasing concern about clinician safety.

Clinician harm is escalating. 

Are we doing enough to keep clinician safe?  Do we have the right safeguards in place?

In this episode we talk with Liz Murphy an experienced CNO from a large hospital in Western Michigan. 

Liz shares her insights and experiences around clinician safety and examples of processes, and practices for keeping clinicians safe.

Join us to learn more about the safety challenges and some innovative practices to maintain safety for both patients and clinicians.

Inside the Episode We Talk About:

·         Biggest threats to clinician safety

·         Best practices for keeping clinicians safe

·         Psychiatric and safety response teams

·         Safety courses/training

·         Disruptive behavior

·         Behavior standards

·         Long-term affects of physical and verbal harm

·         Intolerance

·         Individual safety practices

·         Second victim

·         Discharge and transitions of care as safety risk for patients

·         Best practices for patient safety

Related Episodes

Episode #8:  Patient and Clinician Safety from a Patient’s Point of View

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

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Episode #22 How to Leverage the Individual and Team Tension that Exists in Today’s Healthcare Environments featuring Tony Suchman, MD

Introduction To Episode:

No one health professional can be responsible for the delivery of quality, safe care, but many have not been prepared to work in teams.

This is one of the greatest challenges faced in healthcare today.

There is a lot to learn about leveraging this tension between individual and team in today’s healthcare environments.

Experiences vary greatly across the country from one healthcare organization or practice to another.

What are you experiencing?

In this episode, we interview Dr. Tony Suchman, an organizational change and transformation expert. Tony shares with us his experiences and perspectives as a physician regarding the tension between individuals and teams in healthcare.

He talks about the realities from a physician perspective and those things that have historically influenced the ability of physicians to work in teams.

He also encourages all of us to consider the importance of systems thinking, culture, and leadership when it comes to supporting both individuals and teams.

We discuss the various strategies like team training, service lines, and financial incentives being implemented, and how these initiatives are influencing the advancement of teamwork.

There is no care without individuals, but at the same time there is no individual who can give care all by him or herself”. Dr. Tony Suchman

Inside this Episode We Talk About:

  • Set up not to trust others

  • Need for remedial training

  • Over-emphasis on the individual historically

  • Fostering systemness and systems thinking

  • Influence of our mental models

  • Psychological safety

  • Individuals are interdependent with the system

  • Moral distress

  • The role of culture

  • Relational patterns

  • Leadership development

Related Episodes:

Episode #11: Why we need an I in Team

Episode #9: Interprofessional Collaboration: The Upside of Hierarchy

Resources:

“Leading Change in Healthcare: Transforming organizations using complexity, positive psychology and relationship-centered care,” Tony Suchman co-authored with David Sluyter and PennyWilliamson, published in 2011 by Radcliffe Publishing of London and New York. Available on Amazon.

Leading Organizations to Health (LOH): www.lohweb.com

Relationship Centered Healthcare: https://www.rchcweb.com

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking lens!

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.


Episode #21 Rapid Rollout of EHRs: Insights into the nursing experience from a statewide study with Dr. Susan McBride and Dr. Mari Tietze

Introduction to Episode:

There is no turning back now! We are in the digital age and electronic health records (EHRs) are here to stay! 

What is important now is looking at the results or outcomes of the rapid implementation of the EHRs.  The lens we use to examine the outcomes can have serious implications for future strategies.   

In this episode we talk with Dr. Susan McBride and Dr. Mary Tietze, two nurse informatics scholars from Texas who share our passion for health information technology and interprofessional practice. 

The focus of our conversation today is the landmark, statewide study they conducted assessing the experience of nurses with the electronic health record in Texas.   

This is powerful work resulted from the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) ACT and a key question, “What is going to happen to nursing?”  

What they learned has informed strategies to improve nurse satisfaction and is influencing policy recommendations nationally.  It also revealed the existence of the technology and practice platform polarity.   

Join us as we learn about the results from this landmark study and discuss the significance of using a polarity lens.

 

In This Episode We Discuss:

·         Clinical Decision Support (CDS) impacts nursing satisfaction with the EHR

·         Rural nurses are very dissatisfied and facing real challenges

·         Maturity of the EHR as a factor in satisfaction

·         Possibility of replicating the study in other states

·         Qualitative findings were positive and negative

·         Nurses are facing moral distress with use of the EHR

·         Ethical decisions and challenges are faced

·         Movement since study to address documentation burden

·         Took Kit that is evidence-based to improve nurse satisfaction

·         Polarity Thinking™ as the missing link between technology and practice in health informatics

·         Interprofessional Health Informatics textbook

·         Polarity Model as a powerful tool to optimize technology and improve care delivery

·         Case Study calls for polarity thinking approach


Related Episodes:

Episode #12 The Upside and Downside of Health Information Technology


References:

McBride, S., Tietze, M., Hanley, M. A., & Thomas, L., (2015).  Statewide study assessing the experience of nurses with their electronic health records.  Austin, TX:  Texas nurses Association.  Retrieved from https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.texasnurses.org/resource/resmgr/HIT_Files/HIT_Survey_Report-Final.pdf 

McBride, S., Tietze, M., Robichaux, C., Stokes, L., Weber, E. (January 31, 2008). Identifying and Addressing Ethical Issues with Use of Electronic Health Records. OJIN:  The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1), Manuscript 5.  doi:  10.3912/OJIN.Vol32No01Man05.

HIMSS TIGER Report (2014).  The Leadership Imperative: TIGER's Recommendations for Integrating Technology to Transform Practice and Education.

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #20: Stop Stressing and Start Managing the Constant Tension Between Margin and Mission in Today’s Healthcare Climate

Introduction to Episode:

Are you feeling the tension between serving the mission while maintaining the margin?

It is a stressful time for leaders as they worry about delivering quality, safe care, reducing clinician burden, improving patient and family experiences and at the same time dealing with changing reimbursement models and financial constraints.

As a leader, do you feel like you don’t have enough fingers to plug the numerous holes in the dike?

The truth is, these challenges are not isolated problems. They represent polarities, interdependent pairs or tensions that are related to one larger polarity.

 We posit the Margin and Mission polarity is the overarching polarity in healthcare today and many other polarities co-exist beneath this polarity.

During this episode we discuss the interdependent relationship between margin and mission, the internal and external factors that are impacting both and some simultaneous action steps to gain or maintain positive outcomes.

 

Inside the Episode We Talk About:

·         High quality, safe care and the best experience for both providers and recipients are not achievable if both margin

and mission aren’t addressed simultaneously

·         Keep an eye on the interdependent relationship between margin and mission

·         Be clear on the positive outcomes you are wanting to achieve when you focus on the mission and positive

outcomes when you focus on the margin

·         Understand the negative consequences that will be experienced when both margin and mission are not being

supported

·         Everyone plays a role

·         Engage staff knowledge and input into fiscal issues

·         Increase staff capacity to understand financial management components

·         Engage everyone in monitoring for early warning signs

 

Teaching Points:

·         No margin without mission and no mission without margin. It is an interdependent relationship

·         Be vigilant in monitoring the interdependence and emphasis of the organization

·         You will fail over time if you do not leverage this polarity and there will be dire consequences if you over focus on

one pole to the neglect of the other

 

Related Episodes

Episode #10:  Unleashing the Power of the Margin and Mission Polarity in Complex Care

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #19: Partnership Infrastructures: A key Strategy for Leveraging the Vertical and Horizontal Relationship Polarity with Bonnie Wesorick

Introduction to Episode:

 

Have you ever wondered how healthcare organizations became so hierarchical or why we struggle with hierarchical relationships in our healthcare environments? 

In today’s episode, we discuss the hierarchy (vertical) and partnership (horizontal) relationship polarity in the healthcare settings with Bonnie Wesorick. 

Bonnie has over 40 years of experience in helping organizations establish partnership infrastructures that lead to the creation of healthy cultures.

There is a long history in the evolution of the hierarchical cultures in healthcare and Bonnie sheds some light on this history in addition to helping us understand why it has persisted over time.  

“It [the hierarchical relationships] seemed appropriate, until it didn’t” said Bonnie Wesorick.

When we experience hierarchical relationships as negative or as a problem, it’s natural to want to move away from the experience and toward the opposite, more partnering relationships. 

Do you know what it means or takes to have partnering relationships?

Organizational leaders sometimes say relationship building is the “soft” stuff, but it is the hardest work.

Ever wonder why partnering relationships are so hard to develop and maintain? 

Partnering relationships don’t just happen.  The development of partnering relationships requires an intentionally designed infrastructure.

We discuss with Bonnie the role intentionally designed infrastructures play in providing a place for connection, focus on the shared mission, and skill development and the impact they have on creating a healthy culture.

Join us for this enlightening conversation and the lessons learned across the span of more than 40 years of creating partnership infrastructures and healthy cultures.

 

During this episode we discuss:

·         Historically healthcare was based on infrastructures like church, the military, and academia.  These are

structures

that are hierarchical in nature and based on power.

·         The term hierarchy brings up negative feelings/emotions for those that have lived in the downside of it.

·         When work is dehumanized more can get done faster.

·         Unhealthy cultures impact practice and represents the disconnected souls in the organization.

·         We need a new way of thinking about vertical relationships and an infrastructure to learn about partnership

every day.

·         Governance is not the center of relationships.  Mission lies at the center of relationships, it’s what connects

us.

·         Connecting with others around the mission is powerful.

·         Polarities show up with complaints which are early warning signs.

·         Culture work begins with the individual.

·         Culture is invisible but it can be “felt”.

·         There is a need for both vertical and horizontal relationships to establish a healthy culture. 

·         The vertical and horizontal polarity and how well it is leveraged is core to a healthy work culture.

·         Infrastructures that focus on developing partnering relationships provide a safe place for individuals to

practice being different with their peers

·         This polarity is not going away, so there is time and many opportunities to work on leveraging it.

·         Three biggest lessons around developing a partnership infrastructure.

 

Teaching Points:

·     Both types of relationships are necessary to establish to a healthy work culture.

·         If you are in a position of power be aware of how your preference can influence how well or poorly this

polarity is leveraged.

·         Infrastructures provide the place and space to develop partnering relationships.

 

Related episodes:

Episode #2  Barry Johnson & Bonnie Wesorick: Living Legends

Episode #9  Interprofessional Collaboration:  The Upside of Hierarchy

 

References:

Wesorick, B. (2016). Polarity Thinking in Healthcare:  The Missing Logic to Achieve Transformation. Amherst, MA, HRD Press, Inc.

Wesorick, B., Shiparski, L., Troseth, M. R., & Wyngarden, K. (1997).  Partnership Council Field Book.  Grand Rapids, MI:  Practice Field Publishing.

 

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #18: Unique and Innovative Strategies for Overcoming Never-Ending and Common Healthcare Staffing Challenges with Laurie Shiparski

Introduction to Episode:

 

Ever had the feeling that everything and nothing has changed at the same time?

That’s how we felt during this episode as we talked with Laurie Shiparski about staffing challenges and the recruitment and retention polarity.

While challenges with staffing in healthcare haven’t changed much over the past 20 years there are unique and innovative strategies that can be used to leverage the recruitment and retention polarity that lies beneath the staffing problem.

Laurie is a Principle at Edgework Institute and has done a tremendous amount of work in the healthcare field on the recruitment and retention polarity within healthcare organizations.

Laurie is a master at leveraging polarities, and she takes a creative approach to helping organizations solve the staffing problem by leveraging the recruitment and retention polarity. 

There are big dynamics operating under staffing problems that can be strategically addressed.

Resistance is a part of the process and Laurie recommends you name it, expect it and use it to move forward. 

Join us as Laurie shares her experiences and strategies for taking action to leverage the recruitment and retention polarity and how to learn from and leverage the wisdom in resistance.

Inside the Episode We Talk About:

·   When you are stuck- the energy is stuck, and you need to look at deeper dynamics

·   Can’t turn polarities off once you know about them

·    Avoid swinging from under-staffing to over-staffing

·    Staffing forecast analysis

·    Hire ahead strategies

·    Proposals and planning for volume growth

·    Grow your own programs

·    Some strategies can support both recruitment and retention

·    Core and contingency staffing

·    Staff engagement and ownership in recruitment and retention

·    Scheduling strategies, innovation, and technology

·    Metrics, Metrics, Metrics! (sick call rate, turn-over, productivity)

·    Work force violence as an early warning sign

·    Power in validating concerns and shifting energy

·    Think about the resister in you!

·    Coax out the resistance

Links and References:

Edgework Institute: www.edgeworkinst.com

Blog:  Are you staying afloat with staffing?  Avoid these 5 common mistakes.

To view Laurie’s beautiful artwork:  https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/laurie-shiparski?tab=artwork

Previous Related Episodes:

Episode #7: What you’ll want to know about solving the staffing problem

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #17: What about the patient experience? After thoughts with Anne Chamberlin

Introduction to Episode:

In one of our previous episodes our guest, Ben Moulton said “Patients are the co-pilot in the airplane called better healthcare”

In a person-centered approach to care hearing the person’s voice and engaging them in decision-making is critical. 

How often do we hear the patient’s story? We gather patient data but are we asking patients to tell their story, to convey their experiences, and are we listening and learning from those experiences when they are told?

What is it costing, if we aren’t truly listening?

In today’s episode, we are fortunate to talk with Anne Chamberlin.  Ann shares her healthcare story and her experiences battling stage 4 cancer not once, but twice!

She helps us to shine a light on the patient and clinician satisfaction polarity from the patient’s perspective.

This is an excellent opportunity to hear from the patient’s perspective what really matters and what supports and inhibits a quality patient experience.

Inside the Episode We Talk About:

  • Patient expectations for engagement in care

  • Purposeful disengagement- when expectations are not met

  • The impact of assumptions

  • Power of communication and rapport building

  • Small things matter

  • Patients feel the clinician tensions and stress

  • There is a hidden blessing in every day

  • “Be kind to your vessel”

 

 Previous Related Episodes

 Episode #3:  Patient and Clinician Satisfaction:  It’s not an Either/Or Choice

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #16: Combating Clinician Burnout with a Wellness Culture: The Time is Now!

Introduction to Episode:

 In today’s episode our conversation focuses on strategies related to well-being and resilience.

 Clinician burn out is a significant issue and it is getting a lot of attention right now. 

 Unfortunately, 50% of the clinicians including nursing and physicians are experiencing burnout.

We are very fortunate to have Dr. Bernadette Melnyk from The Ohio State University on the show today.  Dr. Melnyk is an inspiring leader who is blazing a significant well-being and resilience trail at OSU as the very first Chief Wellness Officer in the country!

As clinicians we tend to take care of everybody else and neglect our own self-care.  Sound familiar? 

The challenges with burnout aren’t going away without intention and attention.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) formerly the Institute of Medicine has created an Action Collaborative to raise visibility of  clinician burnout, suicide, stress, depression and anxiety; improve the baseline understanding and challenges of well-being and advance evidence-based multidisciplinary solutions to improve patient care by caring for the caregiver.

There are system issues that need to be addressed and individual factors that require attention at the same time.  Hmmm…sounds like a polarity!

Join us to hear Dr. Melnyk share her experience with creating a culture of well-being and sheds some light on how others can begin the journey.

 

Inside the Episode We Talk About:

·         National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Action Collaborative for Clinician Well-Being and Resilience

·         NAM Clinician Well-Being and Resilience Conceptual Model

·         Preventing 80% of chronic conditions with lifestyle changes

·         The Ohio State University as a case study for clinician well-being

·         Importance of high-level leadership, strategic vision, and measurement of outcomes

·         Well-being must be woven into the DNA of the institution becoming a part of the culture

·         Engaging leadership

·         Return on investment and Value of Investment

·         Phenomenal outcomes at OSU

·         Programs and grass root strategies

·         The importance of an exciting vision and having fun!

 

 

References:

NAM Action Collaborative- Knowledge Hub

 NAM Become a Network Organization

 MissingLogic Network Organization Commitment statement

 OSU Case Study Discussion Paper

 Making the Case for the Chief Wellness Officer In America’s Health Systems:  A Call To Action

 OSU Health and Wellness

 Hot of the Press!  A NAM Consensus Study Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being (2019)

 

Previous Related Episodes

  • Episode #3:  Patient and Clinician Satisfaction:  It’s not an either/or choice

  • Episode #4:   Recognizing the Significance of Caregiver  Burden

  • Episode #14: Are You Sacrificing your SELF for OTHERS?

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


 Episode #15: What Nobody Tells You About Aligning Interprofessional Education and Practice

Introduction to Episode:

There is a call for alignment between education and the healthcare delivery system

This alignment has been recognized as a critical component in efforts to improve health and the healthcare system.

To this point most of the interprofessional work has occurred in education with the intention to drive changes in healthcare.

If positive changes in healthcare are to occur, it must come from an alignment between practice and education.

90-95 % of the current workforce has potentially not participated in interprofessional education

There appears to be a gap in awareness on the practice side of what has been occurring with interprofessional education and a lack of interprofessional practice champions in healthcare organizations

There is a truth in the interprofessional education and collaborative practice polarity that enables you to look at it differently

There is a lot of work to be done even though efforts have been going on for over 50 years.

Listen as Michelle and Tracy talk with Dr. Tony Breitbach about what’s happening nationally and what’s needed to address the challenges discussed.

 

Episode Summary Points:

·        Look for opportunities or create opportunities to engage

·        Transformation of the healthcare system is a dual accountability between practice and education

·        Collaboration is a learned skill.  It is not inherent and needs to be practiced

·        Find a good partner and go for small victories

·        More research is needed through a polarity lens to maximize alignment between interprofessional education and

interprofessional practice

 

References:

2018 ASAHP Summit on Healthcare Workforce Readiness for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57a64a023e00beb95af13929/t/5c7ee819652dea6196e0cbd0/1551820828972/REPORT+-+2018+ASAHP+Summit+-+FINAL.pdf

 Brandt, B., Kitto, S., & Cervero, R. M.  Untying the Interprofessional Gordian Knot: The National Collaborative on Improving the Clinical Learning Environment 1-12.

DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002313

Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative. (2019). Guidance on developing quality interprofessional education for the health professions. Chicago, IL: Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2019. Strengthening the Connection Between Health Professions Education and Practice: Proceedings of a Joint Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

https://doi.org/10.17226/25407.

Weiss,  K. B., Passiment, M., Riordan, L., & Wagner, R. for the National Collaborative for Improving the Clinical Learning Environment IP-CLE Report Work Group. Achieving the Optimal Interprofessional Clinical Learning Environment: Proceedings from an NCICLE Symposium. http://ncicle.org. Published January 18, 2019. doi:10.33385/NCICLE.0002

 

Previous Related Episodes

Episode #5: 
Interprofessional Education and Interprofessional Collaborative Practice:  Why isn’t it sustainable?

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 If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #14 Are You Sacrificing your SELF for OTHERS?

Introduction to Episode:

Is there anyone who is not trying to manage the relationship between SELF and OTHERS?

In today’s podcast we discuss the SELF and OTHER Polarity.  This one show’s up in all aspects of life. 

We can feel the tension between SELF and OTHER at work as clinicians and leaders.  The SELF and OTHER tension can also be felt at home as parents or in our marriages or relationships. 

This is NOT going away!

Do you often feel like you are being forced to make a choice?  To choose between yourself and caring or focusing on others?

Maybe you feel the stress of trying to get to a 50/50 balance between both.

Good news!  It’s not an either/or choice!  You can also forget trying to find a 50/50 balance! 

This is a polarity and all it requires is awareness and vigilance to create a dynamic balance and leverage the tension.

Listen as we talk about what this SELF and OTHERS polarity looks like and how to leverage it.

Go here to download the SELF and OTHER Polarity Map® and Reflection Worksheet.


Episode Summary Points:

·         This is a critical polarity for every person’s well-being

·         If you aren’t taking care of you, you can’t take care of others

·         It’s a both/and choice

·         Unhealthy relationships with self and other are at risk

·         Starts with self-awareness

·         What it looks like when you over focus on others

·         Positive outcomes of focusing on self

·         Negative consequences of over focusing on self

·         What it can look like when you take care of self

·         Making conscious choices

·         Potential action steps to gain or maintain positive outcomes of both self and other

·         Vigilant monitoring of current state

 

Key Points:

·        It’s not an either/or choice

·        Both are equally important

·        Dynamic balance is all about choices

·        Engage others to help you

 

 CLICK HERE to download the SELF and OTHER Polarity Map and Reflection Worksheet.

Previous Related Episodes

Episode #4:  Recognizing the significance of Caregiver Burden with Dr. Erin Craft-Otterbacher

Episode #6:  The Holy Grail:  Managing Taking Care of Self AND Taking Care of Others with Dr. Diane Bradley

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #13 The Role of Directive and Shared Decision-Making in Person-Centered Care

Introduction to Episode:

 “Patients are the co-pilot in the airplane called better healthcare” Ben Moulton

This is a very interesting episode because today we’re talking with Dr. Glyn Elwyn a physician/researcher and Ben Moulton a lawyer/patient advocate about the Directive and Shared Decision-Making Polarity.

This polarity can show up in different contexts, leaders and employees, parents and children, but today we are discussing this polarity within the context of decision-making between the provider and patient/family.

At the heart of person-centered care is partnering with individuals and their families in planning, developing and monitoring care in a way that best meets their needs and is considerate of their preferences.   

To be person-centered individuals need to not only act in a person-centered manner but also think in that way.

Historically the provider was the expert and had the answers and directed the care and patients/families were followers or passive participants.

Today there is a desire to have decision-making be an experience where the expertise of the provider along with the values, beliefs and needs of the patient/family are leveraged. 

The challenge is providers and patients and families aren’t always equipped to engage in shared decision-making.

Glyn and Ben share with us what is happening nationally in support of shared decision-making and how decision aides can prepare both providers and patients/families to participate in the shared decision-making process.

During This Episode We Discuss:

·         There are times when it is reasonable to be directive

·         Medicine is full of situations with multitudes of choices

·         Use tools to help ground conversations in fact

·         There is a downside to directive decision-making

·         True informed consent is shared decision-making

·         Physicians are not typically trained in shared decision-making

·         Downsides of shared decision-making

·         A tool is a catalyst but requires the right attitude, motivation, and skills to use it

·         Need culture, buy in, and leadership to advance shared decision-making

 References:

Spatz, E. S., Krumholz H. M., & Moulton, B. W. (2016).  The new era of informed consent: Getting to a reasonable-patient standard through shared decision- making. JAMA, 315(19): 2063–2064. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.3070

King, J. & Moulton, B. (2013).  Group Health's participation in a shared decision-making demonstration yielded lessons, such as role of culture. Health Affairs, 32(2):  294-302.  doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1067  

Spatz, E. S., Krumholz, H. M., & Moulton, B.W. (2017). Prime time for shared decision-making. JAMA, 317(13): 1309-1310.

King, J. & Moulton, B. (2006). Rethinking informed consent: The case for shared decision- making. American Journal of Law & Medicine, 32: 429-501. 

Sirovich, B., Gallagher, P., Wennberg, D., & Fisher, E. (2008). Discretionary decision-making by primary care physicians and the cost of the U.S. health care. Health Affairs, 27(3): 813-822. 

NQF Issues Vital Guidance to Improve Shared Decision Making Between Patients and Healthcare Providers

Links:

Option Grid™ Decision Aids

https://health.ebsco.com/products/option-grid


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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #12 The Upside and Downside of Health Information Technology

Introduction to Episode:

This polarity is a “BIGGY” listeners!

Today we are talking about the technology platform and practice platform polarity.

We have 20 years of experience with this polarity.  We’ve used health information technology at the point of care as clinicians, lead implementations of technology and practice frameworks in hospitals, developed evidence-based content to integrate into the electronic health record and participated on one of the first design teams for the electronic health record.

We recognized early on that health information technology needs to be intentionally designed to support professional practice and patient-centered care.

During this episode Michelle and Tracy share lessons learned over the past 20 years and discuss today’s realities.

Healthcare needs a strong technology platform and a strong practice platform if we expect to provide safe, efficient, person-centered, quality care.

As a generation, today’s healthcare leaders were the pioneers that took the first steps to implement health information technology in healthcare.  Now when leaders step back, it gives them an opportunity to look at what’s been learned and where we are nationally in leveraging this polarity.

 

Episode Summary Points:

·         If we look at the challenges with the electronic health record, as problems to be solved, there is great risk.

·         National trends and initiatives influenced the technology platform and practice platform

·         21st Century Cures Act

·         NAM Action Coalition- Clinician Burden

·         Thinking of technology as a problem to fix is a risk

·         Exponential growth happens when you have common universal standards

·         Universal standards provide a structure or framework for the technology and practice platforms

·         We are not experiencing exponential growth in practice because of the lack of universal standards

·         Millions of dollars invested in health information technology and there is not always a return on the investment

·         Clinicians are experiencing dissatisfaction with the health information technology and moral distress

·         There are positive outcomes associated with technology

·         Pay attention to and monitor the interdependent relationship between these two poles

·         Call for course correction nationally to strengthen the practice platform

·         Describe positive outcomes and negative consequences of both poles

 

 Teaching Points:

·         Health information technology is never going away!  We are the generation to implement it and for some it is their

only experience.  We will always need to leverage the technology platform and practice platform polarity.

·         Be vigilant in monitoring the interdependent relationship and where the attention is in the organization.

·         You will not achieve safe, efficient care if this polarity is not well managed and it can have very negative impact on

clinicians.

·         Pay attention to any opportunities to course correct

References:

Care-Centered Clinical Documentation in the Digital Environment:  Solutions to Alleviate Burnout

Troseth, M. R. (2017).  Interprofessional Collaboration through technology, Nursing Management, 48 (8):  15-17 doi: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000521583.55623.c0

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #11 Why we need an I in Team!

Introduction to Episode

Have you ever heard of the phrase, “There is no I in team”?

Well, there is an “I in Individual”, and teams are made up of individuals. So, there is an I in Team! 

Nationally leaders are looking to team-based care as one of the solutions to poor quality care.  There is an emphasis on moving away from individual autonomous care to team-based care.  What leaders don’t realize is individual and team is a polarity that needs to be leveraged.

 “Individual and Team” represent an interdependent pair of values that are very powerful when leveraged well. 

We often don’t see individual and team through a polarity lens, which is why it is important to shine a light on it and explore its significance during times of complex change in healthcare.

During this podcast we explore this crux polarity within the context of the clinical healthcare team.  It is a significant polarity today with the national focus on improving the quality of care and moving to value-based care. 

Value-based care calls for collaborative team-based care.  However, most of the current workforce is not prepared to practice as a team.

Tracy and Michelle share their experience as interprofessional clinicians and colleagues.  They give insight on ways to leverage and manage the Individual and Team polarity over time to achieve sustainable outcomes. 

 

Episode Summary Points:

·         Why we need an I in team

·         There is a common goal when working as a team

·         Major influencing factors have shifted the focus to team-based care

·         There is lack of progress in achieving the IOM recommendations

·         Moving from volume to value-based care increases the tension, especially when using a problem-solving lens

·         Majority of current workforce is not prepared to practice as a team

·         Everyone has a preference pole

·         Leveraging Individual and Team helps to achieve the Quadruple Aim

·         Using a problem-solving lens is preventing progress and achievement of sustainable results.

 

Teaching Points:

·         Individual and Team represent two different poles, both are equally important

·         Be aware of your preference pole especially if you are a leader in a power position because you can heavily

influence how the individual and team polarity is experienced.

·         Listen for “from-to” statements, it may indicate a polarity exists

 

Click Here to download the Individual and Team Polarity Map and Worksheet

 

References

Institute of Medicine (U.S.), Committee on Quality of Health Care in America (1999).  To err is human: Building a safer health system.  Washington, DC:  National Academy Press. 

Institute of Medicine (U.S.), Committee on Quality of Health Care in America (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century.  Washington, DC:  National Academy Press. 

Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Greiner, A. & Knebel, E. (2003). Health professions education:  A bridge to quality. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 

Miller, H. D. (2009).  From volume to value: Better ways to pay for healthcare.  Health Affairs, 28 (5):  1418-1428. 

Burwell, S. M.  (2015).  Setting value-based payment goals:  HHS efforts to improve U.S. healthcare.  New England Journal of Medicine, 372: 897-899.

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #10 Unleashing the Power of the Margin and Mission Polarity in Complex Care

Introduction to Episode:

In this episode we focus on an over-arching healthcare polarity.  The Margin and Mission Polarity.  Everyone in healthcare is impacted by this polarity. 

Both Margin and Mission must to be present for the system to be sustainable and provide the healthcare we need.

Today we are looking at this polarity within the context of complex care and social needs.

During this episode we talk with Lauran Hardin. Lauran is a leader at the National Center for Complex Care and Social Needs. The center is the home for complex care and is transforming care for people with complex health and social needs. 

Lauran is guiding and coaching leaders every day out in the field to manage this polarity.  Her stories and insights are enlightening and inspiring.

Lauran shares with listeners why it’s important to understand the importance of the margin and mission polarity when creating programs that impact utilization and revenue.

Powerful change and transformation can occur when you understand and marshal the power of both sides of the margin and mission polarity.  Lauran shares some stories that will leave you with a feeling of hope.

Join us to learn from Lauran as she shares case studies and outcomes from the world of complex care and social needs.

 

Episode Summary Points:

·        People with complex and social needs typically require more frequent services without sustainable results

·        Additional polarities at play are competition & collaboration and medical care & whole person care

·        Bring diverse perspectives into one connected whole focused on the same agenda

·        There are benefits for individuals and communities in mastering polarities

·        5% of the population represents 50% of the cost in the healthcare system

·        Honor both sides of margin and mission to facilitate change

·        To reduce barriers to new programs or interventions it is important to keep the margin and mission polarity in mind

·        Develop partnerships with CFOs and the financial side of the business to create solutions together to keep

organizations and systems in balance

·        Leverage relationships and dialogue to lean into the tension

·        Grieve loss of previous dreams or when it hasn’t worked in the past but continue to anchor to the new dream and

approaches

·        Need to come to the table together and channel the power of polarities

·        Shed old beliefs… it doesn’t have to be win or lose, either/or it can be both/and

·        Discomfort is taking on a new skill- the more practice the more we can build strong transformation

 

Teaching Points:

·        Keeping the focus on the shared or greater purpose reduces resistance

·        Recognize your preference pole and be willing to let go

·        Understand diverse opinions are normal and can be channeled and harnessed for the greater good

·        Open yourself up to the rightness of the opposite perspective

 

Resources:

 

Lauran Hardin’s TED Talk: What Matters Most- (Lauran’s TED talks is being edited.  We will post the link as soon as it’s available)  https://tedxmidatlantic.com/speakers/ 

Camden Coalition for Healthcare Providers  https://www.camdenhealth.org/ 

Articles Authored by Lauran Hardin:

 Competing healthcare systems and complex patients: An inter-professional collaboration to improve outcomes and reduce healthcare costs

 JAMA Forum: Bringing It Home: The Shift in Where Health Care Is Delivered

 

Previous Related Episodes

Episode #2

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #9 Interprofessional Collaboration:  The Upside of Hierarchy

Introduction to Episode:

Relationships are a critical element of interprofessional collaboration. 

In today’s episode, we discuss hierarchy and partnership within the context of interprofessional collaboration in the healthcare setting. 

There is a long history in the evolution of the health professions and how they work together that is rooted in social class and gender differences.

There is extensive literature describing the status inequities and power imbalances between physicians, nurses and other health professionals that exist today.

Historically these differences resulted in a hierarchical power structure within healthcare with the physician in the most superior position of the structure.  Interprofessional collaboration and team processes challenge this hierarchical power structure.

Health professionals bump up against the tension between hierarchy and partnership every day as they try to work in collaborative ways.

When we experience hierarchical relationships as negative or as a problem, it’s natural to want to move away from the experience and toward the opposite, a more partnering relationship.   

There is an upside to hierarchical relationships that we are at risk of losing if we over emphasize partnerships. 

We need both hierarchical and partnering relationships to establish a healthy interprofessional collaborative culture. 

 

Episode Summary Points:

·         Long history of cultural, class and gender issues underlying current interprofessional collaboration challenges

·         Power authority within hierarchical structure of healthcare is challenged by interprofessional team processes

·         Lack of clarity on professional boundaries

·         The term hierarchy brings up negative feelings/emotions

·         Discuss this relationship using neutral terms vertical (hierarchy) and horizontal (partnership) relationships

·         Cardiac arrest as an example of leveraging hierarchy and partnership (vertical/horizontal) polarity

·         When in the downside of hierarchical (vertical) relationship it is often seen as a problem to solve

·         Positive outcomes of vertical (hierarchy) relationship

·         What’s at risk if you over emphasize horizontal (partnership) relationships

·         Action steps to achieve positive outcomes of both vertical and horizontal relationships

·         Focusing on the shared purpose can help relieve tension and open people up to positive attributes of each pole

Teaching Points:

·         Both types of relationships are necessary to establish an interprofessional collaborative culture

·         Engage in dialogue to uncover the “rightness” of each type of relationship

·         Recognize your preference pole and blind spots

·         If in a position of power be aware how your preference can influence how well or poorly this polarity is leveraged

·         Use Polarity Thinking™ framework and language to explore current realities and reveal a complete picture of reality

References:

Alexarian, J.A., Kitto, S., Rak, K.J., & Reeves, S. (2015). Beyond the team:  Understanding interprofessional work in two North American ICUs. Critical Care Medicine, 43(9):  1880-1886 

Goldman, S., Reeves, S., Wu, R., Silver, I., MacMillan, K., & Kitto, S. (2016).  A sociological exploration of the tensions related to interprofessional collaboration in acute-care discharge planning.  Journal of Interprofessional Care, 30(2):  217-225.  doi:  10.3109/13561820.2015.1072803 

Hall, P. (2005). Interprofessional teamwork:  Professional cultures as barriers. Journal of Interprofessional Care, Suppl 1:  188-196. 

Hewitt, G., Sims, S., & Harris, R. (2014).  Using realist synthesis to understand the mechanisms of interprofessional teamwork in health and social care.  Journal of Interprofessional Care, 28(6):  501-506.  doi:  10.3109/13561820.2014.939744 

Lingard, L., McDougall, A., Levstik, M., Chandok, N., Spafford, M. M., & Schryer, C. (2012).  Representing complexity well: A story about teamwork, with implications for how we teach collaboration.  Medical Education 46: 869–877 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2012.04339.x 

Orchard, C. A., Curran, V., & Kabene, S. (2005).  Creating a culture for interdisciplinary collaborative professional practice.  Medical Education Online, 10(1):  4387.  https://doi.org/10.3402/meo.v10i.4387

Wesorick, B. (2016). Polarity Thinking in Healthcare:  The Missing Logic to Achieve Transformation. Amherst, MA, HRD Press, Inc.

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #8 Patient and Clinician Safety from a Patient’s Point of View

Introduction to Episode

We were so excited to have Vicky Schmidt join us for this episode.  Vicky has experienced some of the very best of care and some of the worst care over the past 18 years.  She is a patient advocate for person-centered care and has shared her story with thousands.

During this episode Vicky helps us shine a light on the patient and clinician safety polarity from a patient perspective.

This is a significant polarity in healthcare and on the minds of clinicians and healthcare leaders everywhere.

The greater purpose of managing the patient and clinician safety polarity is to create a culture of safety for both those that give and receive care. 

Looking at safety in healthcare through the eyes of someone who has been engaged with and experienced healthcare from across the continuum was enlightening and informative.   

Episode Summary Points:

·        The importance of knowing the patient and family story

·        What patient safety means to patients

·        Signs of safety from a patient’s perspective

·        If clinicians are not supported, the patient isn’t either

·        The patient as part of the team

·        The patient voice in care

·        Education is empowering

·        Positive outcomes from clinician safety

·        Downsides of over focusing on patient safety to the neglect of clinician safety

·        Why it’s important to listen to and acknowledge what patients know about themselves as part of the care

process

·        Patient’s “feel” the environment

·        The significance of the relationship between patients and their caregivers

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens! 

We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #7 What you’ll want to know about solving the staffing problem

Introduction to Episode

Is there ever a time when “staffing” is not being addressed?

Having adequate staff is a critical component of healthcare.  It is more significant than in any other industry probably.  In other industries when someone doesn’t show up for work or you have a few vacancies you may be able to shift things and it’s not that big of a deal or you are able to make things work.  In healthcare, when there are staffing issues, the potential for harm to others increases and satisfaction is challenged both for patients and for clinicians.

There is no one solution or silver bullet to addressing staffing problems!  There is a “short game” and a “long game”.  In the short game you are finding solutions to the problem of not having enough staff and in the long game you are managing the polarities that are beneath the staffing problem as a proactive strategy to avoid experiencing the problem.

During this episode Tracy and Michelle talk about the recruitment and retention polarity that lies beneath the staffing problem.  Managing and leveraging this polarity is the “long game” approach to staffing challenges.

 

Episode Summary Points:

·        Staffing challenges are both a problem and a polarity

·        National influencing factors include workforce challenges, burnout, financial constraints, shifting priorities and

location of services

·        Multiple polarities underlying the challenge of staffing

o   Patient Needs and Staff Needs

o   Mission and Margin

o   Proactive and Reactive approaches

o   Recruitment and Retention

o   Local needs and Global needs

·        Great leaders and clinicians concerned about the safety of patients and clinicians

·        Risks of over focusing on retention when feeling tensions and stress

·        Positive outcomes of recruitment and retention

·        Negative consequences of over focusing on recruitment or retention

·        Simultaneous action steps to gain or maintain positive outcomes of both recruitment and retention

·        Early warning signs indicating you may be over focusing on one pole to the neglect of the other

 

Teaching Points:

·        Staffing is a problem and polarity

·        There are multiple additional polarities that can be managed when addressing staffing

o   Patient Needs and Staff Needs

o   Mission and Margin

o   Local and Global Needs

o   Proactive and Reactive approach

·        Managing the Recruitment and Retention Polarity is a long-term strategy to managing staffing issues

·        Measure the outcomes of this interdependent relationship not just the independent outcome

Recruitment and Retention Worksheet and Polarity Map®

Download here

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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #6 The Holy Grail:  Managing Taking Care of Self AND Taking Care of Others

Introduction to Episode

In this episode we focus on a personal level polarity that we believe is universal.

We venture to say that there isn’t anyone who isn’t or hasn’t been impacted by this polarity.  Clinicians especially, because taking care of others is at the core of our roles and responsibilities. Some individuals become clinicians because of their desire to care for others or to serve others or because they feel called to do so. 

In healthcare today, leaders and clinicians are facing significant challenges such as increasing suicide rates, burnout and moral distress.  In addition, some of us are members of the “sandwich generation”, taking care of kids and parents!   Because this is a polarity, we know it won’t go away, so learning to leverage it is the best option for all. 

Taking care of self and taking care of others occurs in many different contexts.  We experience it as healthcare clinicians, as parents, and as leaders.

During this episode we talk with Dr. Diane Gilbert Bradley about her experiences with managing and leveraging the “self & other” polarity as she navigated her way through medical school, being a rehab medicine physician and as a corporate executive.

Dr. Bradley’s advice to others:  look at taking care of self and taking care of others through an abundance lens.

 

Episode Summary Points:

·        Competition in Medical School on many levels moves you to focus on self to be the best but also focused on

learning to serve others

·        Preference for the OTHER pole lead to choices around specialty of Rehab Medicine

·        Downside of preferring the OTHER pole drove decision making and risk taking

·        Feeling the tension of the downside of a pole can be the impetus for change or escape

·        Over time realized need both focus of self and other

·        Actions can serve both SELF and OTHER Poles

·        Pendulum effect moving from focus on one pole to the focus on other

·        Conscious choices, intentionality and permission to focus on both

·        Self-aware enough to know there was a problem but paralyzed with inability to change it

·        Power of leveraging polarities in designing your life 

·        Extended sabbatical enabling learning of new skills and volunteering on boards

·        Intention regarding how to spend time and design life

·        Awareness of early warning signs and indicators of over focus

 

Teaching Points:

·        This is a crux polarity in any and all relationships

·        Be aware of early warning signs-both with personal and professional relationships

·        This is continuous-not a problem to solve-you will always be working on managing self and others

·        Context and beliefs can influence how you experience this polarity


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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode #5 Interprofessional Education and Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Why isn’t it sustainable?

Introduction to Episode

Both of us have spent a good portion of our careers developing and helping organizations implement tools, processes and infrastructures that support interprofessional education and collaborative practice.  As you might guess this is a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. 

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports, To Err is Human:  Building a Safer Health System (1999); Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century (2001) and Health Professions Education:  A Bridge to Quality (2003), served to heighten the awareness of concerns about safe, quality, cost-effective care within the United States healthcare system.  These reports also reinforced the need for interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaborative practice (ICP).  IPE and ICP represent an interdependent pair.  Both are necessary to prepare the future and the current workforce to work collaboratively.

More recent reports indicate the traditional cultures and practices in healthcare settings do not support ICP (Brandt, Kitto, & Cervero, in press) and those who have experienced IPE go into practice settings that do not support what they have learned.

Achieving the national goals of safe, quality, efficient, effective care will require a healthcare workforce prepared and supported to work collaboratively.  Managing the IPE and ICP polarity is key in achieving sustainable outcomes.  Leveraging strong partnering relationships between practice and education leaders may be one way to manage the IPE/ICP polarity and support current and future workforce preparation.

 

Episode Summary Points:

·        Practice settings are not supporting sustainability of IPE

·        Gordian Knot as representation of interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) as an

intractable problem

·        Infinity loop is a representation of the ongoing tension between IPE and ICP

·        Positive outcomes from focusing on IPE and ICP

·        Negative consequences from over emphasizing IPE to the neglect of ICP

·        Negative consequences from over emphasizing ICP to the neglect of IPE

·        Interdependent relationship between IPE and ICP

·        IPE and ICP partnering relationships

·        Simultaneous action steps to strengthen IPE and ICP outcomes

·        IPE and ICP early warning signs of negative consequences

·        Greater purpose and deepest fear for leveraging the tension between IPE and ICP

·        Equal importance of IPE and ICP

·        Tension between IPE and ICP cannot be eliminated, it must be managed

·        Education and practice partnerships as essential to establishing shared responsibility

 

Recommended Resources: 

Brandt, B., Kitto, S., & Cervero, R. M.  Untying the Interprofessional Gordian Knot: The National Collaborative on Improving the Clinical Learning Environment 1-12. DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002313

Brandt, B. (2015, March). Interprofessional education and collaborative practice:  Welcome to the "new" forty-year-old field.  The Advisor. Retrieved from https://nexusipe.org/resource-exchange/interprofessional-education-and-collaborative-practice-welcome-new-forty-year-old

Golom, F. D. & Schreck, J. S. (2018).  The journey to interprofessional collaborative practice.  Are we there yet?  Pediatric Clinical North America Journal, 65: 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2017.08.017

Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative. (2019). Guidance on developing quality interprofessional education for the health professions. Chicago, IL: Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative.

Institute of Medicine (U.S.), Committee on Quality of Health Care in America (1999).  To err is human: Building a safer health system.  Washington, DC:  National Academy Press.

Institute of Medicine (U.S.), Committee on Quality of Health Care in America (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century.  Washington, DC:  National Academy Press.

Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Greiner, A. & Knebel, E. (2003). Health professions education:  A bridge to quality. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2019. Strengthening the Connection Between Health Professions Education and Practice: Proceedings of a Joint Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.https://doi.org/10.17226/25407.

Hendricks, S., LaMothe, V. J., Halstead, J. A., Taylor, J., Ofner, S., Chase, L.,  Dunscomb, J., Chael, A., & Priest, C. (2018). Fostering interprofessional collaborative practice in acute care through an academic-practice partnership, Journal of Interprofessional Care, 32(5):, 613-620, DOI: 10.1080/13561820.2018.1470498 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2018.1470498

Weiss,  K. B., Passiment, M., Riordan, L., & Wagner, R. for the National Collaborative for Improving the Clinical Learning Environment IP-CLE Report Work Group. Achieving the Optimal Interprofessional Clinical Learning Environment: Proceedings from an NCICLE Symposium. http://ncicle.org. Published January 18, 2019. doi:10.33385/NCICLE.0002


Practice Education Partnership Guide

Download here

 

Interest in IPE/ICP Polarity Research

Click here if you are interested in exploring research opportunities related to managing the IPE/ICP polarity.



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If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode 4: Recognizing the Significance of Caregiver Burden

Introduction to Episode

We were so excited to have Dr. Erin Craft-Otterbacher join us for this episode.  Erin is a new Family Practice DNP graduate. She is a very bright, knowledgeable young lady who we know you will enjoy learning from.

During this episode Erin helps us shine a light on caregiver burden and the need to manage the tension between the needs of the caregiver and the needs of the care recipient.

Managing the tension between this pair of needs is an emerging and significant polarity in healthcare.  The polarity is universal.  Most of us have had caregiver experiences or even care recipient experiences. Today, more and more middle-aged adults are becoming members of the “sandwich generation” and feeling the squeeze and burden of caring for aging parents and children at the same time. 

Can you relate to this tension?

The over emphasis on care recipient needs to the neglect of the needs of the caregiver can lead to significant and negative consequences for both the caregiver and the care recipient. 

Healthcare systems, for the most part, do not do a very good job of recognizing the needs of caregivers.  Only about 16% of caregivers are asked about their own self-care.  The burdens they feel and carry, if unaddressed, can lead to devastating outcomes for them and for those they are providing care for. 

There is a call to recognize the significant and highly valuable role caregivers play in care delivery as we deal with a growing aging population because caregivers play such an essential role.  Another reason to recognize the value of the caregiver is it is extremely important to the economic health of our country.

 Episode Summary Points:

·        Polarity Thinking™ as a mind frame and way of seeing the world

·        Underneath the problem of Caregiver Burden was the caregiver needs and care recipient needs polarity

·        Caregiver burden could potentially impact sustainability of the healthcare system

·        Recognition of the role and value of the caregiver to sustain individual and system health

·        Positive outcomes of supporting the needs of the caregiver and needs of the recipient of care

·        Negative consequences of over emphasis on one pole to neglect of the other

·        Polarity Map® as a tool to make polarities apparent and predictable

·        Macro and micro level action steps to strengthen outcomes from addressing the needs of both

·        Opportunities to leverage the Polarity Map® as a “wisdom organizer”

·        The Polarity Map® can function as a care planning tool

·        Recognizing early warning signs of over emphasis is important

·        Why it’s essential to leverage the tension between caregiver and care recipient needs

 

Recommended resources:

National PACE Association 

https://www.npaonline.org/


AARP Family Caregiving

https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/

 

AARP Caregiver Life Balance

https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/life-balance/?intcmp=AE-CAR-SUBNAV-CLB


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 Are you subscribed to our podcast?  If you’re not, we want to encourage you to do that today.  We don’t want you to miss an episode.  We have many great sessions lined up, including some amazing healthcare leaders who have great experience in applying Polarity Thinking™ in healthcare.  Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to access, and after listening select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”  


 Episode 3:  Patient and Clinician Satisfaction:  It’s not an Either/or Choice

 

Introduction to Episode

Today we are exploring a major crux polarity in the healthcare system that is often looked at as two separate or independent issues.  The topic today is the patient satisfaction and clinician satisfaction polarity.  While this pair appears to be opposites, they have an interdependent relationship.  Achieving positive sustainable outcomes cannot be accomplished by focusing on one or the other  – heck no!  It’s a both/and opportunity. 

In this episode we will discuss the current realities surrounding this polarity.  Why an over-emphasis on patient satisfaction actually got healthcare leaders into trouble over time and how the Triple Aim may have contributed to our current realities. 

This episode invites you to consider your own experience as a healthcare leader and/or practicing clinician and expand your thinking to see patient and clinician satisfaction as a “good tension” that can be leveraged to create organizations that are the best for patients to receive care and for clinicians give care. 

Podcast Episode Summary 

·        External factors: burnout, suicide, moral distress, regulatory pressures

·        Burnout is a problem – underneath that is the polarity of patient satisfaction and clinician satisfaction.

·        Triple Aim to Quadruple Aim – what did we learn?

·        National Academy of Medicine – Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience

·        Leveraging the tension between patient satisfaction and clinician satisfaction

·        Action steps to improve patient satisfaction and clinician satisfaction

·        Recognizing the early warning signs of over-focusing on one over the other

·        Be vigilant!

Recommended Resources

Berwick, D.M., Nolan, T.W. & Whittington J. (2008) The Triple Aim: Care, health, and cost. Health Affairs, 27 (3):759-769 

Bodenheimer T, Sinsky C. From triple to quadruple aim: care of the patient requires care of the provider. Ann Fam Med. 2014;12(6):573-576. 

Ahmed, F., Burt, J., Roland, M. (2014).  Measuring patient experience:  Concepts and methods.  Patient, 7: 235-241. 

Janicijevic, I., Seke, K., Djokovic, A., & Filipovic, J.  (2013).  Healthcare worker satisfaction and patient satisfaction-where is the linkage?  HIPPOKRATIA, 17(2):  157-162. 

Naidu, A. (2009).  Factors affecting patient satisfaction and healthcare quality.  International Journal of Health Care Quality Assuranc,e 22(4):  366-381.

National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience https://nam.edu/initiatives/clinician-resilience-and-well-being/

MissingLogic is a network organization of NAM’s Action Collaborative.  Read our commitment statement here.



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 Subscribe & Review in iTunes

 Are you subscribed to our podcast?  If you’re not, we want to encourage you to do that today.  We don’t want you to miss an episode.  We have many great sessions lined up, including some amazing healthcare leaders who have great experience in applying Polarity Thinking™ in healthcare.  Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to access, and after listening select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.” 


Episode 2: Barry Johnson & Bonnie Wesorick: Living Legends

Introduction to Episode

We are so grateful to have two “living legends” as our first guests on the podcast, Dr. Barry Johnson and Bonnie Wesorick.  They are both phenomenal leaders whose life’s work has been to bring Polarity Thinking™ to the world.  We are blessed they are our mentors, colleagues and friends! 

During the interview Barry shares how the original Polarity Map® emerged in 1975 and how the work has expanded globally.  Barry partnered with Bonnie Wesorick in the 1990’s as she recognized the significance of managing polarities to achieve healthcare transformation. Bonnie shares her journey in supporting a consortium of over 400 healthcare organizations in applying Polarity Thinking™ and how that led to the development of the first healthcare specific Polarity Assessment™.

 

Episode Summary Points:  

·        Polarity Thinking….the beginning

·        Polarity Mapping – how we see invisible polarities

·        The Infinity Loop – represents the energy between polarities

·        “And” thinking supplements “Or” thinking – a polarity itself

·        Healthcare Frameworks and Models to make sense of the whole

·        We must know reality in healthcare

·        Paradigm Shifts to Polarity Interdependent Pairs: Moving from “From-To” to Both-And”

·        How the Polarity Assessment Tool measures key healthcare polarities in real time


Recommended resources:

Johnson, B. (1992).  Polarity management: Identifying and managing unsolvable problems.  Amherst, MA:  HRD Press. 

Wesorick, B., & Shaha, S. (2015). Guiding health care transformation: A next- generation, diagnostic remediation tool for leveraging polarities. Nursing Outlook, 63: .691-702. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2015.05.007.

Wesorick, B. (2016) Polarity Thinking: The missing logic to achieve healthcare transformation.  Amherst, MA: HRD Press.


www.polaritypartnerships.com MissingLogic, LLC is proud to be a strategic partner of Polarity Partnerships!

 

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Are you subscribed to our podcast?  If you’re not, we want to encourage you to do that today.  We don’t want you to miss an episode.  We have many great sessions lined up, including some amazing healthcare leaders who have great experience in applying Polarity Thinking™ in healthcare.  Click here to subscribe in iTunes! 

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to access, and after listening select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”


Episode 1: Introduction to Healthcare’s MissingLogic Podcast

 Welcome to Healthcare’s MissingLogic!   

In this introductory episode, Tracy and Michelle share their 30+ years experience with healthcare transformation and how they are “mad as hell” about the wasted time, money and resources spent on addressing the same challenges over and over.  It is hard to take when you know it doesn’t have to be that way.   

As healthcare clinicians, leaders and educators we are excellent problems solvers, so why do we face the same challenges over and over?  It’s because not every challenge is a problem that can be solved!  Some challenges are polarities and polarities can’t be solved, they need to be managed and leveraged.    

Healthcare’s “missing logic” is recognizing that problem solving is not enough and healthcare leaders need to look at their current challenges through a new lens! When you misdiagnose a polarity as a problem you are 100% guaranteed to fail over time.  Healthcare leaders must compliment their problem solving skills with Polarity Thinking™ to recognize, leverage and manage polarities so they can achieve sustainable positive outcomes. 

Tracy and Michelle invite you to join them in the movement to make Polarity Thinking™ mainstream in healthcare and listen to them each week as they discuss the crux polarities in healthcare.


Episode Summary Points:

 ·        Why are we here and what do we have to say?

·        What is a polarity?

·        Breathing as a polarity metaphor

·        Both/And Thinking approach

·        Problem Lens & Polarity Lens

·        Healthcare’s crux polarities

·        Culture, conflict and resistance

·        All polarities work the same and are 100% predictable

·        We are  “moneyball” of healthcare challenging the status quo

 

Recommended resources:

 www.missinglogic.com

 

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Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to our podcast?  If you’re not, we want to encourage you to do that today.  We don’t want you to miss an episode.  We have many great sessions lined up, including some amazing healthcare leaders who have great experience in applying Polarity Thinking™ in healthcare.  Click here to subscribe in iTunes! 

If you found value in this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes! Our mission is to start “a movement” of leaders who address the chronic challenges in healthcare through a Polarity Thinking™ lens!  We want to share the wisdom in the podcast with healthcare leaders everywhere! Just click here to access, and after listening select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and tell us what your favorite part of the podcast is.”