Conducting Valuable Medical Practice Staff Meetings

It is imperative that medical practices today have recurring staff meetings. Staff meetings allow the group to communicate about the organization as a whole.  It is one idea to have a meeting here or there, but to have a successful practice you should have the meetings on a consistent basis.

Here are some pointers to have a valuable meeting that will be worth your staff’s time, as well as yours:

Have it on a certain day - Whether it is every Tuesday morning from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. or the second and fourth Tuesday of the month, this ensures that everyone in the organization is committed to the success of the practice.

Meetings should be mandatory - It should be understood by all that the practice expects the members to be present. There really should be no exceptions other than emergencies or planned vacations.

Create an agenda - This will assist to make certain you do not miss anything from meeting to meeting. An agenda example would be:

1. Goals

2. Status of goals

3. Training topic

4. Current issues

5. Current successes

6. Upcoming events

7. Final thought

Take notes - If there are issues, questions, or other matters that need to be followed up, write them down. Most importantly, remember to follow through. You are only as good as your word.

Get the team involved - Give the members assignments and rotate each one of the team to train the rest of the team on a topic.

During the meeting, ask questions and get the others involved - There is nothing worse than to have to sit and listen to someone week after week.

Be prepared! - Designate enough time to practice your agenda. Remember, leading the meeting is just presenting to an outside organization. If they see you are not prepared, the meeting agenda will lose value.

During the meeting ask questions and get others involved - Involving staff gives them a sense of accomplishment and boosts confidence. This makes meetings far more interesting than listening to the same person every week.

Be energetic - Fluctuate your tone, voice volume, smile, and make eye contact! It is your time to shine.

Remember this is an opportunity to stay in tune with what is happening at your practice. Get them talking!

I believe many times administrators do not have regular meetings due to their own comfort level presenting or speaking to groups. Like anything else, the more you practice, the better you will become. You can practice in the mirror or even in front of a video recorder (iPads have this functionality). However you do it does not matter, what is most important is to make eye contact and smile. Make it fun!