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It was 6 a.m. on a rainy, cold Pacific Northwest morning as I walked from my apartment to the hospital, dodging puddles and dreaming of the mediocre-yet-hot physician-lounge coffee. Another long day full of clinical and administrative tasks awaited me.
I was 6 months’ pregnant with our first child and working my sixth 12-hour shift in a row. We had recently lost our medical director, and the C-suite had offered me the role. The day ahead seemed like an enormous mountain to climb.
I felt tired and more than a little overwhelmed. But I whispered to myself: “Today is going to be a fantastic day. I will not fail my team. I will not fail my patients!”
Physician leadership starts with a decision
The timing of this call to leadership had not been ideal. There’s probably never a perfect time to step into a medical director role. And my situation was no exception.
In addition to the baby on the way, my husband was traveling a lot for work. Also, the job of a medical director seemed a little daunting – especially to a young physician leading a team for the first time.
But I knew that leadership was my calling. While I didn’t yet have decades of experience, I had been selected as the chief resident in internal medicine, completed a nephrology fellowship, and mentored several medical students and residents along my career path.
I also knew that I was passionate about supporting my patients and hospitalist team. I’d previously served as associate medical director in charge of quality, readmission reduction, and patient experience. Having achieved the highest patient satisfaction scores on the team for 2 consecutive years, I was specially tasked to improve our team’s HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores.
These experiences taught me that coaching with positive reinforcement was in my blood. This gave me the courage to face my tallest mountain yet.
No one climbs a mountain alone
I also stepped into my new physician leadership role with amazing support. Our outgoing medical director had recommended me, and my entire team was rooting for me. My spouse was 100% behind the idea.
What’s more, I had received amazing feedback from patients throughout my 3 years at the hospital. I had papered an entire office wall with their thank-you notes. I even had a quilt that an 85-year-old patient’s wife made to thank me for my compassionate care.
As I weighed my decision, I realized that I had a higher calling to be a true advocate for my patients. I loved what I did. Each day, I resolved to bring my best and most authentic self for them – no matter how drained I felt.
My team and patients needed me now, not at some more convenient time down the road. A medical director job was the natural next step for me. And so, I resolved to climb the mountain.
Climbing through storms
Stepping into a medical director job forced me to grow into a completely new person. So maybe starting that role during pregnancy was a great metaphor!
Each day, there was immense pressure to perform, to deliver quality outcomes, and to simultaneously meet expectations of the C-suite as well as my hospitalist team. There was no room for failure, because too much was at stake.
Looking back today, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. The medical director role was one of the most gratifying experiences in my life, and I am truly thankful for it.
A leader’s role truly boils down to working tirelessly to collaborate with different care teams. It’s important to care not only about our patients but also about our fellow hospitalists. We can do this by truly leading by example – be it picking up extra shifts, covering holidays so team members can be with family, or coming in at 10 p.m. to round with your night team.
I was also able to bring a unique perspective to the hospital C-suite meetings as a woman, an immigrant, and a true “mama bear” – not only of my infant son but also of my team.
My first year as a medical director required more commitment and heart than I could have imagined. But all this hard work paid off when our hospitalist group received the coveted Best Team Award for most improved quality outcomes, financial performance, and patient experience.
The summit is the beginning
My first medical director job fueled my passion for patient satisfaction even further. I now serve as the director of patient experience for the more than 4,200 clinicians at Vituity. Together we care for more than 6.5 million lives a year across the country.
In 2019, I coached 300 physicians and hospital leaders on communication, collaboration, and service recovery skills, leading to significant improvement in their HCAHPS scores. I was delighted to receive the Vituity Distinguished Service Award for my contributions. It’s such an honor to be instrumental in impacting patient care at a larger scale.
This year, I was invited to serve as vice chair of the Society for Hospital Medicine’s patient experience committee and to join the executive board of the SHM San Francisco chapter. Together, we have created a COVID-19 patient communication resource and reached out to our hospitalists to provide them with a space to share their stories during this pandemic. I am so excited to share my knowledge and passion with clinicians across the country given the wide reach of Vituity & SHM!
Many hospitalists shy away from leadership roles. The mountain is tough to scale, but the view from the top is worth it. The key is to start, even if you don’t feel ready. I am here to tell you it can be done!
Dr. Mehta is a hospitalist and director of quality & performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif. She is vice chair of the SHM patient experience committee and executive board member of the SHM San Francisco Bay Area chapter.
It was 6 a.m. on a rainy, cold Pacific Northwest morning as I walked from my apartment to the hospital, dodging puddles and dreaming of the mediocre-yet-hot physician-lounge coffee. Another long day full of clinical and administrative tasks awaited me.
I was 6 months’ pregnant with our first child and working my sixth 12-hour shift in a row. We had recently lost our medical director, and the C-suite had offered me the role. The day ahead seemed like an enormous mountain to climb.
I felt tired and more than a little overwhelmed. But I whispered to myself: “Today is going to be a fantastic day. I will not fail my team. I will not fail my patients!”
Physician leadership starts with a decision
The timing of this call to leadership had not been ideal. There’s probably never a perfect time to step into a medical director role. And my situation was no exception.
In addition to the baby on the way, my husband was traveling a lot for work. Also, the job of a medical director seemed a little daunting – especially to a young physician leading a team for the first time.
But I knew that leadership was my calling. While I didn’t yet have decades of experience, I had been selected as the chief resident in internal medicine, completed a nephrology fellowship, and mentored several medical students and residents along my career path.
I also knew that I was passionate about supporting my patients and hospitalist team. I’d previously served as associate medical director in charge of quality, readmission reduction, and patient experience. Having achieved the highest patient satisfaction scores on the team for 2 consecutive years, I was specially tasked to improve our team’s HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores.
These experiences taught me that coaching with positive reinforcement was in my blood. This gave me the courage to face my tallest mountain yet.
No one climbs a mountain alone
I also stepped into my new physician leadership role with amazing support. Our outgoing medical director had recommended me, and my entire team was rooting for me. My spouse was 100% behind the idea.
What’s more, I had received amazing feedback from patients throughout my 3 years at the hospital. I had papered an entire office wall with their thank-you notes. I even had a quilt that an 85-year-old patient’s wife made to thank me for my compassionate care.
As I weighed my decision, I realized that I had a higher calling to be a true advocate for my patients. I loved what I did. Each day, I resolved to bring my best and most authentic self for them – no matter how drained I felt.
My team and patients needed me now, not at some more convenient time down the road. A medical director job was the natural next step for me. And so, I resolved to climb the mountain.
Climbing through storms
Stepping into a medical director job forced me to grow into a completely new person. So maybe starting that role during pregnancy was a great metaphor!
Each day, there was immense pressure to perform, to deliver quality outcomes, and to simultaneously meet expectations of the C-suite as well as my hospitalist team. There was no room for failure, because too much was at stake.
Looking back today, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. The medical director role was one of the most gratifying experiences in my life, and I am truly thankful for it.
A leader’s role truly boils down to working tirelessly to collaborate with different care teams. It’s important to care not only about our patients but also about our fellow hospitalists. We can do this by truly leading by example – be it picking up extra shifts, covering holidays so team members can be with family, or coming in at 10 p.m. to round with your night team.
I was also able to bring a unique perspective to the hospital C-suite meetings as a woman, an immigrant, and a true “mama bear” – not only of my infant son but also of my team.
My first year as a medical director required more commitment and heart than I could have imagined. But all this hard work paid off when our hospitalist group received the coveted Best Team Award for most improved quality outcomes, financial performance, and patient experience.
The summit is the beginning
My first medical director job fueled my passion for patient satisfaction even further. I now serve as the director of patient experience for the more than 4,200 clinicians at Vituity. Together we care for more than 6.5 million lives a year across the country.
In 2019, I coached 300 physicians and hospital leaders on communication, collaboration, and service recovery skills, leading to significant improvement in their HCAHPS scores. I was delighted to receive the Vituity Distinguished Service Award for my contributions. It’s such an honor to be instrumental in impacting patient care at a larger scale.
This year, I was invited to serve as vice chair of the Society for Hospital Medicine’s patient experience committee and to join the executive board of the SHM San Francisco chapter. Together, we have created a COVID-19 patient communication resource and reached out to our hospitalists to provide them with a space to share their stories during this pandemic. I am so excited to share my knowledge and passion with clinicians across the country given the wide reach of Vituity & SHM!
Many hospitalists shy away from leadership roles. The mountain is tough to scale, but the view from the top is worth it. The key is to start, even if you don’t feel ready. I am here to tell you it can be done!
Dr. Mehta is a hospitalist and director of quality & performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif. She is vice chair of the SHM patient experience committee and executive board member of the SHM San Francisco Bay Area chapter.
It was 6 a.m. on a rainy, cold Pacific Northwest morning as I walked from my apartment to the hospital, dodging puddles and dreaming of the mediocre-yet-hot physician-lounge coffee. Another long day full of clinical and administrative tasks awaited me.
I was 6 months’ pregnant with our first child and working my sixth 12-hour shift in a row. We had recently lost our medical director, and the C-suite had offered me the role. The day ahead seemed like an enormous mountain to climb.
I felt tired and more than a little overwhelmed. But I whispered to myself: “Today is going to be a fantastic day. I will not fail my team. I will not fail my patients!”
Physician leadership starts with a decision
The timing of this call to leadership had not been ideal. There’s probably never a perfect time to step into a medical director role. And my situation was no exception.
In addition to the baby on the way, my husband was traveling a lot for work. Also, the job of a medical director seemed a little daunting – especially to a young physician leading a team for the first time.
But I knew that leadership was my calling. While I didn’t yet have decades of experience, I had been selected as the chief resident in internal medicine, completed a nephrology fellowship, and mentored several medical students and residents along my career path.
I also knew that I was passionate about supporting my patients and hospitalist team. I’d previously served as associate medical director in charge of quality, readmission reduction, and patient experience. Having achieved the highest patient satisfaction scores on the team for 2 consecutive years, I was specially tasked to improve our team’s HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores.
These experiences taught me that coaching with positive reinforcement was in my blood. This gave me the courage to face my tallest mountain yet.
No one climbs a mountain alone
I also stepped into my new physician leadership role with amazing support. Our outgoing medical director had recommended me, and my entire team was rooting for me. My spouse was 100% behind the idea.
What’s more, I had received amazing feedback from patients throughout my 3 years at the hospital. I had papered an entire office wall with their thank-you notes. I even had a quilt that an 85-year-old patient’s wife made to thank me for my compassionate care.
As I weighed my decision, I realized that I had a higher calling to be a true advocate for my patients. I loved what I did. Each day, I resolved to bring my best and most authentic self for them – no matter how drained I felt.
My team and patients needed me now, not at some more convenient time down the road. A medical director job was the natural next step for me. And so, I resolved to climb the mountain.
Climbing through storms
Stepping into a medical director job forced me to grow into a completely new person. So maybe starting that role during pregnancy was a great metaphor!
Each day, there was immense pressure to perform, to deliver quality outcomes, and to simultaneously meet expectations of the C-suite as well as my hospitalist team. There was no room for failure, because too much was at stake.
Looking back today, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. The medical director role was one of the most gratifying experiences in my life, and I am truly thankful for it.
A leader’s role truly boils down to working tirelessly to collaborate with different care teams. It’s important to care not only about our patients but also about our fellow hospitalists. We can do this by truly leading by example – be it picking up extra shifts, covering holidays so team members can be with family, or coming in at 10 p.m. to round with your night team.
I was also able to bring a unique perspective to the hospital C-suite meetings as a woman, an immigrant, and a true “mama bear” – not only of my infant son but also of my team.
My first year as a medical director required more commitment and heart than I could have imagined. But all this hard work paid off when our hospitalist group received the coveted Best Team Award for most improved quality outcomes, financial performance, and patient experience.
The summit is the beginning
My first medical director job fueled my passion for patient satisfaction even further. I now serve as the director of patient experience for the more than 4,200 clinicians at Vituity. Together we care for more than 6.5 million lives a year across the country.
In 2019, I coached 300 physicians and hospital leaders on communication, collaboration, and service recovery skills, leading to significant improvement in their HCAHPS scores. I was delighted to receive the Vituity Distinguished Service Award for my contributions. It’s such an honor to be instrumental in impacting patient care at a larger scale.
This year, I was invited to serve as vice chair of the Society for Hospital Medicine’s patient experience committee and to join the executive board of the SHM San Francisco chapter. Together, we have created a COVID-19 patient communication resource and reached out to our hospitalists to provide them with a space to share their stories during this pandemic. I am so excited to share my knowledge and passion with clinicians across the country given the wide reach of Vituity & SHM!
Many hospitalists shy away from leadership roles. The mountain is tough to scale, but the view from the top is worth it. The key is to start, even if you don’t feel ready. I am here to tell you it can be done!
Dr. Mehta is a hospitalist and director of quality & performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif. She is vice chair of the SHM patient experience committee and executive board member of the SHM San Francisco Bay Area chapter.