Low Turnover Rates Make a Medical Practice Perfect

Most health care managers spend a good portion of their day dealing with patients both directly and indirectly. If there's one thing I've noticed it's the comfort that consistency brings to their medical experience. By that I don't just mean having a doctor they can trust, but also nurses and office staff they know and can depend upon.





I was reminded of this as I read a recent Medical Group Management Association article about rewarding a good staff as a means of keeping them in your employment:





''One way leaders minimize turnover is by rewarding employees for helping the practice succeed. The clinic also gives staff members a voice in the practice's operations...Employees can have a direct effect on practice operations in several ways. Because they serve as liaisons between patients and clinic leaders, employees use a feedback box to capture comments they hear from patients. Those submissions are reviewed monthly at staff meetings so all employees and providers are aware of issues and can help provide solutions."





Of course, this requires that everyone put their egos aside for the benefit of the overall practice, and in places where there is an established hierarchy it can be difficult to share information so freely. However, giving every employee a voice and rewarding their effort increases their commitment to the work they do, and patients intuitively know when the people who care for them are truly involved.