Beyond culture and regular staff meetings.

Joining the radiology department of a New York City hospital, I learned that if I fostered employees' self-respect and self-reliance, they would do a good job. I believed the staff would achieve maximum performance levels when I understood the culture of the department and could work with staff members beyond regular staff meetings. More than anything else, understanding the department culture influenced my style of management. To keep the lines of communication open, department supervisors and attending radiologists meet biweekly with the chairman of radiology to discuss current and anticipated problems. Often, these meetings are charged with new ideas and excitement. An in-services program to educate and motivate employees on the job was another ongoing process, with radiologists and radiology administration working together. In-service presentations emphasized learning by using actual cases. Believing a seminar's effectiveness can be measured by its relevance to staff members, I gave a seminar on financial techniques and explained stocks, bonds, mutual funds, IRAs, 403B, 401K and multiple retirement options. Technical and clerical staffs are unionized so management and union delegates now meet to identify mutual concerns under the hospital-initiated labor management meetings. To meet additional goals, my department closely monitors the QI of the most important aspects of care-waiting times, turnaround times of radiology reports and satisfaction of both physicians and patients. In the creative atmosphere I brought to the hospital, I was able to teach staff members to reach for goals they had considered beyond them.