Silence the Negative, Bounce Back from the Unpredictable

It’s no surprise that resilience is a key strength in any career choice, but especially as a hospitalist, this asset is one you will need to carry with you often. Health care professionals are in high demand and a heavier than normal burden is being placed on their schedules now more than ever. With this, there are bound to be a lot of unexpected tribulations that arise in the average workday. Instead of becoming frustrated, hospitalists can take several steps to diminish their chances of ending up with a laundry list of unanticipated hardships.

It all starts with creating a process that is manageable and easy to stick to – something simple and uncomplicated – usually five steps or less. Here are a few tips that may help you the next time you start to feel overwhelmed in the workplace.

Limit the Number of Times You Say Yes

Saying yes to every request that comes your way can leave you feeling exhausted. Instead of saying yes instantly, take a moment to pause and reflect. A good rule of thumb is to tell the person who is asking something of you, “I would love to help you. Give me some time to think it over and cross check my schedule.” Once you have weighed the pros and potential cons of taking on the new task(s), you can make a more rational decision. It’s important to give yourself downtime, and because of this, you shouldn’t feel bad about saying no when needed.

Allocate Time for Your Calendar

If you want to set yourself up for success, you must spend time planning and looking ahead at your schedule. By evaluating the scope of upcoming projects, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of overbooking yourself. Simply spending just 15-20 minutes a day going over your agenda can make a world of difference.

Everything is Not an Emergency

Understandably as a hospitalist, you are likely to move at a fast pace and many emergent situations may arise day-to-day. However, not every situation needs to be treated as an urgent matter. In the case of patient care, there are bound to be several circumstances that need your attention immediately. However, on the administrative side, you may come across a multitude of scenarios that don’t need to be addressed right away. By giving yourself some grace to prioritize your tasks by order of importance and not making everything a “must-do right now” obligation, you can improve your well-being and decrease stress levels.

Recognize Your Hard Work

Celebrate the small victories! By regularly celebrating your milestones, you are more likely to have a positive mindset no matter the circumstances surrounding you. In addition, by practicing gratitude, you will not only feel better about yourself and your role, but also your company, colleagues, and patients. You should strive to set a positive example others can look up to and make a difference in the lives of those around you.

Ask for Help

As a health care worker it’s imperative that you know when to ask for help. Especially now, hospitalists and physicians are understaffed and overworked – which means more responsibility is placed on one person alone. If you’re not careful, you can experience burnout if you try doing everything yourself and don’t ask for assistance when you should. Rather than trying to take on an overwhelming amount of work, try asking a colleague for help when you need it most.

We understand that it’s hard work to remain positive and grounded during these most unprecedented times. However, we also believe that you have more power than you realize to usher in positivity whenever possible. At Advanced Care Hospitalists, we continuously look for ways to foster positivity within our health organizations and among our care team. Want to learn more about how we can help serve your organization? Contact us at 863-816-5884.

Learn More About Advanced Care Hospitalists (ACH)

ACH is a Lakeland-based hospitalist group providing comprehensive patient care in community hospitals across Central Florida. Our providers are highly skilled, board-certified internal medicine specialists who are available around-the-clock to meet the care needs of patients from hospital admission through discharge. Post-discharge from the hospital, we continue overseeing patient care for 30 days.

We’ve found that continued care coordination ensures more accurate medication reconciliation, improved compliance with discharge plans, better scheduling of follow-up visits, and fewer hospital readmissions. Our providers do everything in their power to make sure our patients receive the compassionate and comprehensive care they need to promote healing and prevent a second hospital admission.

For more information about our services and our practice, please contact Advanced Care Hospitalists at 863-816-5884 or fill out a contact form online.