NARUS 2018: Expert Communication and Team Work in the Robotic OR
Ms. DiBona emphasized the importance of having a mission and vision for the team. Mission statements influence key priorities because they are formed on the basis of the organization’s core values and beliefs and serve as a backup for the company’s purpose and strategy. A vision statement is important for organization transformation and business success, and describes a desirable future state and long-term organizational goals. For example, at Hackensack Meridian Health where Ms. DiBona works, the mission is to provide the full spectrum of life-enhancing care and services and to create and sustain healthy and vibrant communities. Their vision is to set the standard for providing quality care, for humanizing the health experience, and for defining the future of medicine.
Furthermore, it is important to have a strategic plan, since creating a plan is an investment in improving the organization. The strategy in many healthcare environments involves understanding the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, and collaborating to create standardized care models. As important is forming an appropriate culture, which refers to the pattern of development reflected in a group’s system of knowledge, ideology, values, and day-to-day rituals. Organizational culture comprises a set of values, conventions, behaviors, and attitudes that create the sense of an organization.
Effective communication is related to leader’s expression of the vision, with a clear explanation of why collaboration is important. This involves including the employees in the dialogue, allowing them to participate in open communication, creating opportunities for idea sharing and feedback. The skills needed for effective collaboration and integrating an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of teammates allows for each member to collaborate in a way that may further develop their strength and serve as a motivating force within the collaboration.
Ms. DiBona also highlighted the importance of leadership in an organization, noting that leadership helps an organization adapt to its environment by eliminating ineffective patterns of behavior and replacing them with new ones. To lead is to move the organization forward and organizations move forward through change, according to Ms. DiBona. As important is to provide appropriate recognition. This may include treating employees like paying customers and promoting a supportive environment.
Ms. DiBona concluded by discussing conflict and its inevitability when dealing with human interaction. Learning to embrace conflict and allowing it to be an opportunity for growth and transformation is crucial. Critical reflection provides a way to learn the power of responsibility, moving away from communication styles of blaming and hostility and focusing on communication that identifies the groups responsibility for what happens within the group. Furthermore, when conflict arises in the group, the group needs to address the conflict together, since conflict is everyone’s responsibility. Finally, Ms. DiBona underscored that understanding the power each individual has when they are part of the group and how they influence the group will ultimately move the group to higher heights.
Presented By: Courtney DiBona, Hackensack University, Hackensack, NJ
Written By: Zachary Klaassen, MD, Urologic Oncology Fellow, University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, @zklaassen_md ,at the 2018 North American Robotic Urology Symposium, February 16-17, 2018 - Las Vegas, NV