Nurses Week, Collaboration, and Teamwork

Today ends National Nurses Week 2018.  While Medical Receptionists are the bridge of communication, nurses are the bridge to direct patient care.  Nurses have roles in almost any healthcare setting you can think of.  Direct patient care, clinical management, case management, directors, and even utilization management just to name a few.  Nurses provide required clinical support to medical doctors by executing care plans, reviewing and managing patient care needs and test results.

My mom is a nurse, a damn good nurse! I remember growing up and her colleagues telling me how great my mom was to work with, I saw her letters of acknowledgment from patients and accolades from managers and department heads.  As a child I spent a lot of time with my mom and her nurse friends.  They were some of the most dedicated women and men you could meet.  They cared about their patients, they often worked long hours to get he job done right and were proud of their career choice.

Having also worked along side some awesome nurses I found as a Medical Receptionist your relationship with the nursing staff of your organization is vital.  Having open communication with the nurses is important and allows you to be a better connection between the clinical staff and patients.  Nurses are often the first person you reach out to for a clinical questions or an in office emergency.  Collaboration between the front desk and the nursing staff can be the difference between a well oiled machine and a broke down train.  When departments work together for the greater good of the organization you will see positive results in your organization externally through the patients and internally.

Teamwork in full effect includes everyone in the organization.  When you don’t work closely with other departments there can sometimes be a distance that can cause friction, assumptions, and tension.  There are ways to bridge the gap between clinical and clerical staff, between billing departments and front desk, or even between physicians and front desk.  Knowing who you need to refer to in any given situation is key.  When you do need to go to those that you may not normally communicate with, come prepared.  Introduce yourself if you don’t know the department member.  This is not always an issue in smaller practices but within larger groups or practices that use temporary staff or have employees who work in multiple offices you run into the issue of not getting to know everyone.

The more prepared your are when approaching another colleague about a patient matter and vice versa the smoother interactions will be.  Patient needs will be met.  Many offices will notify staff of a new employee and their role prior to start.  If this doesn’t happen perhaps you can request a short meeting to discuss how your role and their role work together.  That is a way to honor continuity of care and prepare the other employee in what to expect in the position as it refers to the front desk.  Your feedback is important to your employer and management. You bare witness to the on-goings of your office, you know when things are working and when they need to be changed.  Always use proper communication channels to make requests and share ideas.  Medical Receptionists and Nurses working together can move mountains in some cases.  Keep up the fantastic job and encourage teamwork within your practice.

Fun Facts

• There are over 4 million nurses in the United States.  https://kaiserf.am/2F4ijk3
• There are over 576,000 Medical Receptionists/Medical Secretaries https://bit.ly/2Iz7l86
• Florence Nightingale- Nightingale founded the first secular nursing school in the world at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. It is still there today, training nurses for work as RNs and midwives and happens to be the number one nursing school in London. https://bit.ly/2IAfMAa

Medical Receptionist Handbook to Success is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.