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Young Physicians: Starting Strong: Essential Steps to Making the Right First Impression at Your New Job
SECTON REPORT
YOUNG PHYSICIANS Starting Strong: Essential Steps to Making the Right First Impression at Your New Job
J. David Gatz, MD
Whether you’ve been in the game for a few years or are fresh out of residency, it is essential you make the right first impression at any new job. Outside of being able to intubate blindfolded or knowing obscure eponyms for your boards, what will make you stand out? Surveying a large network of ED medical directors who manage everything from small freestanding EDs to large academic sites about the most important things new ED physicians can do to stand out provided interesting and sometimes unexpected answers. While there were common themes, some of the results may surprise you!
1. Believe in Yourself, but Stay Humble
It is assumed, coming out of residency, that you are competent in emergency medicine (from a clinical, procedural, and knowledge standpoint). While you might not have seen every piece of pathology present in a board review book, you have had the training to troubleshoot anything that walks through the door. That being said, generate respect from your colleagues and your team by showing that you recognize that there is room for growth and experiences to learn from every day. Medicine (especially emergency medicine) requires lifelong learning. Recognize your weaknesses (i.e. Foleys, eyeballs, subclavian lines…) and then commit to seeking them out until you no longer dread facing them. You will thank yourself in the future, on your own during that inevitable single-coverage night shift!
2. Be Professional (at All Times!)
Professional conduct should be the rule - not just with your patients, but also in your interactions with colleagues, co-workers and consultants. Some expectations seem obvious: Come in a little early to your shift (“on time” for a shift is late), be responsive to emails and phone calls (while you are not expected to be glued to your phone and email, neither should requests or emails sit for weeks unanswered), and pay attention to department communications (as annoying as emails may be, it is essential that any attending be aware of and up to date on departmental communications). In the ED, it is important to recognize that to your patients, you are the face to the hospital. Equally important, to consultants and executives you are the face of the department (and the rest of us emergency medicine docs!). In our field, we inevitably encounter a wide variety of personality types. As an EM physician, you must cultivate your emotional intelligence to learn to manage all types of temperaments and often challenging attitudes. Even if someone is unprofessional with you, never stoop to their level. Inform your director about it or handle it privately in the moment, but always be the bigger person. Your medical director will thank you! It is not by coincidence that emergency physicians are frequently promoted to leadership positions throughout their hospitals. The need to mold ourselves and adjust to understand and get along with so many different specialties in the ED environment provides the ideal training ground for such positions. Playing nicely in the sandbox finally pays off!! Remind yourself of that when you are struggling to keep your cool.
3. Establish a Strong Relationship with Your Staff (Especially Nursing!)
While seemingly obvious, this point is often overlooked. As the new kid on the block, it is essential that you build relationships with those around you. How? It is actually pretty straightforward: be courteous, thoughtful, kind and approachable. First impressions matter (and stick!). If a new doc gets labeled as mean or slow or difficult, it can be hard to shake that reputation. Small gestures, such as bringing in some treats for the staff, being generous with verbal expressions of your appreciation or even just knowing someone’s name can go a long way in building your reputation as a team player. This is not bribery; it is simple recognition of the incredibly hard work your coworkers put in each day. Earning their gratitude makes it more likely they will step up to assist when you inevitably find yourself in a pinch.
4. Establish a Strong
“You want your patient to leave Relationship with Your Patients Develop a wonderful bedside feeling that they manner. Sit down. Listen. Don’t were fully heard and interrupt. Ask your patients treated as a complete what is important to them. Before honing in too quickly on person…not just a a chief complaint, always ask, constellation of “Was there anything else that symptoms.” brought you to the emergency department today?” Make sure that you really listen and hear what they are saying. You want your patient to leave feeling that they were fully heard and treated as a complete person…not just a constellation of symptoms. One of the most common sources of frustration and anger for patients is that while they may have received appropriate care, they did not feel cared for. Patients may not remember much about their visit – but they will remember how you made them feel. Understand the difference between sympathy and empathy. Empathy is a powerful tool that you should wield often.
5. Seek (and Give) Feedback
A good director should give feedback early and often, but may be overwhelmed. Take the initiative and solicit feedback. Inquiring about productivity and patient satisfaction data (or whatever other topic feeds your curiosity) will demonstrate your interest in the department. While you don’t have to be the fastest doc in the department, it is best not to be the slowest; knowing your numbers is important. Don’t forget to get to know nursing leadership as well. They can be a great source of feedback (especially if they know you are seeking it), and also a great source of support if they connect with you. You will inevitably identify areas for system improvement in your new department. But remember: don’t just identify problems. Develop a potential solution and bring it to your director in an appropriate forum. Offering solutions to problems is well received and demonstrates your engagement within the practice.
Three Questions to Get You on the Fast Track for Success
• Ask the most recent hires before you – what piece of advice did you not get, that you wish you did, when you started here? • Ask the director – what is your biggest pet peeve of new hires? Ideally, they will be open and honest with you, and then you can avoid it! • Ask the nurses – who is their favorite doc to work with and why?
Emulate those behaviors.
Thank you to the following individuals who provided comments for this article: • Dr. Amit Chandra • Dr. Chirag Chaudhari • Dr. Brandon Cole • Dr. Richard Ferraro • Dr. Jon Mark Hirshon • Dr. Joel Klein • Dr. Doug Mayo • Dr. Steve Schenkel • Dr. Angela Smedley • Dr. Laura Pimentel
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