In this episode, Dr. Aaron Fritts interviews Dr. Peder Horner about the impact of staff culture on patient care, how to manage bad players, and how to maintain an active role in shaping a healthy work culture.

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SHOW NOTES

We begin by discussing why staff culture is important. In IR, many people are coming out of a toxic training program and are now expected to be department leaders. We take after our mentors, and we pick up both good and bad habits. So where does healthy staff culture start? Dr. Horner explains that it starts from the top. You have to play an active role in molding the culture, otherwise it will remain toxic or simply be uninspiring.

Next, we ask Dr. Horner how he inspires his staff. He shares many values as a parent and a leader. If he is tired and as a result doesn’t smile while at work, it can set the mood for a case, similarly to how it can add up and impact a home relationship on a day to day basis. When employees have negative feelings at work, this results in worse patient care.

Lastly, we talk about how to maintain culture once you have a good team onboard. Dr. Horner believes in checking in frequently by asking his techs and nurses how they are doing. He prioritizes their career growth and mobility, which he says may lose him employees over time, but in turn makes people enjoy coming to work because they feel like they are improving and advancing. He says you must be selfless as a leader. If you expect everything to stay static, you’re doing your staff and patients a disservice. Even a great team, if left static, will not go far. He encourages personal and professional development among his staff which is a huge part of the culture of growth he believes in.

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RESOURCES

Harvard Business Review:

https://hbr.org

Paper on Work Culture and Patient Care:

https://asqblog.com/2015/02/25/barsade-oneill-2014-whats-love-got-to-do-with-it-a-longitudinal-study-of-the-culture-of-companionate-love-and-employee-and-client-outcomes-in-a-long-term-care-setting/