This is the title for a conference for Christian Medical and Dental Professionals that my wife and I are attending in Kelowna this weekend. It is sponsored by The Christian Medical and Dental Society (CMDS) of Canada.
To keep the title short, the organizing committee dropped the word “visible” as an adjective for “difference” It originally read “Making a VISIBLE difference: Honouring God in Professional Practice”
Whether honoring God at work is visible or invisible, it does make a difference. As I mentioned in my last article on Holy Worldliness, we honor God by valuing what He values. We care for this world because God cares for this world. Whether or not that caring is visible to others is not as important as simply doing it.
Having said that though, suppose we were arrested and put on trial for “making a difference by honoring God at work.” Would there be enough evidence to convict us?
This is a good question There ought to be something different about our work as people of faith. There needs to be evidence that we serve a different Lord than the lords of the marketplace: fame, power and money.
At our medical clinic, Medi-Kel, this difference shows itself in the way we handle workplace power. We do power differently in our business. While many people think power is something politicians are interested in, in fact, power or the lack of it affects the daily experience of most people at work. (For more on this subject please download my article A New Way to Work )
With respect to medical work, physicians have a lot of power. They are the experts. They are responsible for making decisions that are sometimes a matter of life and death. Though they may not always realize it, that power can and does intimidate others.
For example, last Friday night in
Respect and even fear of physicians is something our clinic had to address in the development of our organizational culture, especially as it relates to staff physician relationships.
We have value team at our clinic. One of our practice management values states,
“Everyone shall work together to the best of their ability and shall be interdependent unto the common goal of excellent, timely & compassionate patient care so that all parties benefit physicians, staff and patients.”
The operative word in this sentence is “interdependence”. Simply put this means that everyone has an important role to play in the success of the clinic including the staff and these roles are best performed when everyone’s role is valued equally and the team works together. Physicians value staff roles and vice versa. (For a list of our Governing Commitments and Patient Care Values please visit the Medi-Kel Website.)
Sometimes this means physicians get over ruled in favor of staff positions with respect to policies at the clinic. This can be a hard thing for some doctors to get used to since they are accustomed to doing things their way. Since they usually have the power to make that happen, it can be frustrating for them.
However, as I said, we do power differently at Medi-Kel. Staff have an equal voice at the table. We are a team. Every member is a valued team member.
Consider these words from my article Making Soup at a Medical Clinic - A Case Study in the New Way to Work,
“There are no “big people” (physicians), “little people” (staff), or “problem people” (patients) and neither do we consider there to be “important work” (medical care) and “ordinary work” (administration). Everybody’s work contributes to the success of the clinic and every person is valued equally as a member of the clinic family.”
The value of teamwork has paid off. Staff have noticed it. One staff person said when she first came to work for us, “The work environment is like no other that I have ever experienced.”
So this is an example of the VISIBLE difference. If Medi-Kel Clinic was put on trial for honoring God by making a difference in physician staff relationships, there would be evidence to convict us. The evidence is in the experience of the staff who work at our clinic.
The benefit for both staff and physicians is that we have a positive affirming work culture. Everyone enjoys working there. While we still have our day to day challenges we can face them with each other’s support. This is the benefit of a team work ethic.
QUESTIONS TO HELP WITH APPLICATION
Hear are some questions to ponder concerning how power affects your work relationships with staff. Perhaps this is an area where you can make a visible difference by honoring God in professional practice.
o How does your staff view your management style? Do you think they consider it autocratic or do they feel they have a voice in how the office operates?
o How do you handle patients who are abusive to staff? What happens if a patient is abusive repeatedly?
o Do you have policies concerning special requests made by patients who want an exception made for their particular situation? Do you accede to these requests and put your staff in an awkward position of being over ruled by you when patients make these requests?
o Do you always side with the patient when there is a difference of opinion between a staff person and a patient?
o Are you sensitive to staff stress levels and what actions can you undertake to reduce staff stress? What are some ideas for making your workplace an enjoyable experience for your staff?
o How often do you catch staff doing things right? Do you let them know when they have done their jobs well? How do you recognize and appreciate staff?
o Last Wednesday was Secretary's Day. Did you show appreciation for your staff and how did you do that? If not, what can you do this coming week to show your staff appreciation for the hard work that they do?
