For most surgeons, providing patient care is only one of many elements of their profession. In addition to seemingly endless administrative and management duties, surgeons must also navigate relationships with colleagues, subordinates and hospital administrators. The quality of these relationships can make or break positive work environments, so prioritizing and nurturing their health is worthwhile. Healthy work environments are the most efficient and productive, and they also help to prevent burnout among workers. Over the course of our many years working with surgeons and administrators, we have learned the importance of strong surgeon-administrator relationships and can share unique insight into how they can be meaningfully bolstered.
Foundations of High-Performing Surgical Teams
At its core, a high-performing surgical team is motivated by a common goal. Achieving that goal requires a clearly defined pathway and trust among team members. That trust is built, in part, through understanding each other, knowing what matters—and why it matters—and being able to openly communicate, particularly during times of disagreement. Even though administrators do not have a clinical role on surgical teams, they still influence goal setting and can have an impact on morale. Surgeons are often the liaison between administrators and surgical teams. Surgeons who are open and honest with administrators and their surgical teams and who promote a paradigm of sharing successes tend to have the strongest relationships with administrators and clinical colleagues.
The Role of Education and Communication in Surgeon-Administrator Relationships
Education is an important bidirectional pathway in any great surgeon-administrator relationship. Administrators and surgeons are poised to help educate one another in instances when one side might lack adequate knowledge of the topic being discussed. These conversations must be built upon shared respect, trust, and transparency. Surgeons and administrators should be eager to assist and educate one another whenever possible.
Employee Burnout Implications of Surgeon-Administrator Relationships
Preventing medical burnout is a top priority in the current healthcare climate. Just as a good physician-patient relationship can improve patient outcomes, a good surgeon-administrator relationship can improve the work environment and ease employee burnout. Celebrating successes is important, but if administrators are unaware of those successes, burnout can ensue. Similarly, if administrators are kept in the dark about morale-related issues, they are unable to help remedy the problems. Surgeons who accurately convey the temperature of employee health to administrators earn their respect. In turn, surgeons and administrators are better equipped to work together on boosting morale and reducing employee turnover rates.
Our Relationship with Administrators
NexGen Surgical takes on the administrative duties of surgeons, allowing them to focus solely on patient care. Some of these duties include managing relationships with administrators and providing the precise surgical services their facility needs. Rather than spending valuable time away from practice attending hospital management meetings, a dedicated NexGen Regional Medical Officer will work with administrators to keep them up to date on the health of your department. Any updates from administration will be communicated to you to help guide the direction of your surgical practice.
Maintaining Your Clinical Independence
Surgeons should have more time to focus on delivering patient care, learning new skills and spending time away from the practice to recharge. This is why NexGen Surgical deals with insurance companies, handles staff problems, runs the back office—and even meets with administrators. Even though we remove administrative burdens for surgeons, we never take away their autonomy. Our goal is to always support the individual goals of our surgeons and provide them with an impeccable service.
To learn more about how NexGen Surgical supports high-performing surgeons, contact us at 844.592.0802 and one of our experts will reach out.
