Teamwork
IT’S NOT ‘YOUR’ PROGRAM
Whether or not you are the ‘leader’ (or one of the ‘few leaders’) of your block program, it is very important for you to know your place. I hope that comment sounds shocking to you. I hope that you are interested enough to read further just to know where I think each person stands in the nerve block program or maybe just to hear where I think your place, in particular, should be in the scheme of things.
OK, enough drama. Here’s the problem. Many times, when we really drive hard, go the extra mile and sacrifice for our projects, we tend to take a great deal of ownership of them. No problem so far. The problem occurs when we start getting too far ahead of the rest of the pack. At some point, it can become ‘my’ block program. You become frustrated by the lack of perceived support and interest. Everyone else (even the conscientious follower) starts to lose step with the flow of things, feels unappreciated and develops stress because of new responsibilities with inadequate information. No surprise, a variety of ‘unhelpful’ attitudes begin to arise.
Some individuals need to be at the forefront, preparing for the next steps, blazing the next trail for the others. Some points or new avenues are not important to share ‘at the present’, but if others do not feel like they have an opportunity for input (novel discoveries, great ideas, minor frustrations, unrecognized problems), the program suffers -and then the patient suffers.
If you think I’m talking about keeping your anesthesia group informed, you are only half right (or less). Really, I am talking about all of the support staff you have around you that really allow your growing block program to survive like: holding room nurses, anesthetists, pharmacy department, the surgeon’s office, floor nurses, and many more. Your block program is much more likely to fail due to a poor infrastructure than due to your lack of skills.
Don’t feel like you’ve done enough just to tell some of these people to ‘let you know if there’s an issue’. You must actively request feedback, and make them feel like they can speak freely. Many are ‘eyes & ears’ that are around when you are not around. You want those ‘eyes & ears’ (and mouths!) helping the program, not the opposite. If others around the facility feel like it is also ‘their’ program, then it will be greatly served. I always advise that the entire staff should be given a voice and feel empowered to give suggestions, ask questions, and make requests that would help the program to work better for those in their capacity. This is especially important in the early growing phases of a program. If the staff has clear guidelines, and they feel like a valuable member of the ‘team’, then they will keep the program afloat. And whenever you can, remember to say ‘thanks’.