Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

5 ways to build a relationship with hospital administrators

Amy Baruch, MD
Physician
March 23, 2018
Share
Tweet
Share

My desire to write this piece stems from my recent realization that I wasted a good part of my early career in medicine. While I was happily working in my pathology “bubble,” I was completely oblivious to the great untapped potential I had to affect change not just within, but also outside of, my department. In an effort to encourage other physicians to find ways to make an impact, I am sharing what I have found to be effective in building a relationship with hospital administrators, who hold the ultimate decision-making power on most changes in the hospital setting. My advice is geared towards those early in their medical career, but still applicable to any physician at any point in his or her career. So here it goes:

1. Take time to build rapport. Do not expect that because you are a highly productive and sought-after specialist, administration can or should do anything you ask. On the flipside, just because you are a primary care physician in a remote area that is perceived to be a drain on hospital resources, do not assume that administration does not have an interest in your opinions. No matter what your position on the medical ladder, building relationships is essential to fostering change. Most people are more likely to go out of their way to help a friend than a stranger, and ways to befriend administrators abound.

Volunteer for committees, and come to the meetings. When you attend a meeting, make an effort to listen to everyone’s point of view and to contribute to the conversation. Make the effort to get to know your administrators at a personal level. Make a mental note — or a note in your cell phone — about any upcoming events mentioned in passing, and remember to ask about it the next time you see that individual. A little question like “How did your mother’s surgery go?” can really make a big impression. These reminders of our common humanity help us see each other as people, not just “greedy” doctors who want the hospital to spend more money, or “out-of-touch” administrators who expect doctors to continue to do more with less resources. If you have the opportunity to share a meal with an administrator or even catch one in the hallway for a brief conversation, send that person a quick follow-up email thanking him or her for taking the time to listen to you. Make it a point to write thank you notes. These gestures are not only important to building a good working relationship, but may even be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Building relationships builds allies, expands your network, and increases your potential to effect change.

2. Maintain a positive attitude. Do you want to listen to, much less help, someone who is always complaining and miserable to be around? Enough said.

3. Be reasonable about your expectations. There are many shiny new toys available in health care that have great potential to improve patient care; many of these toys have very large price tags. Chances are that your hospital has seen an unfavorable shift in payer mix over the last few years, and that your hospital recently purchased an astronomically expensive EMR. The bottom line is that hospitals have less disposable income. Knowing that multiple specialties are competing for the same dollars — not to mention the hospital employees who expect an annual raise, the one-hundred-year-old building that needs structural repairs, etc. — be reasonable about what your hospital can do with limited resources. Explain the value of the new instrument/procedure/process you would like the hospital to purchase or implement. Will a new technology increase your hospital’s market share? Will a new procedure decrease length of stay for a certain condition? Help your administrators understand how what you are asking for can be mutually beneficial.

4. Always assume good intentions. I first read the quote “assume positive intent” from Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, in a compilation of advice from successful businesswomen. In the entire compilation, this is the one piece of advice that stuck with me and also where I see many physicians go wrong. I know a number of physicians that tend to think that every decision administration makes is made with the intent of making their lives — either as individuals or collectively — more difficult. This is simply not the case. Administrators have a vested interest in making sure that physicians are happy, because unhappy physicians leave and/or make mistakes, both of which are costly to the hospital.

Knowing that administrators want you to be happy, if you are unhappy about something at work, the onus is on you to let an administrator know why and to offer realistic solutions or suggestions for improvements. If you are able to secure a face-to-face meeting with an administrator to do so, take a moment to remind yourself to “assume good intentions” before the meeting starts, and follow the Dalai Lama’s “one-win-everything” negotiating techniques (you can find these by googling). You will both walk out of the meeting better off for it.

5. Be persistent. Just because you hear “no,” if you believe strongly in your idea, do not give up on it. Find out exactly why your idea is being rejected, and figure out if there is a way to modify it, scale it down, break it into smaller pieces, or make it more palatable. Could you do a pilot project to collect more data to make a stronger case? Do you need to spend more time educating and getting support from the involved parties? Is it all-or-nothing, or is something still an improvement? Be patient — persistence pays off.

If there something you want changed at your hospital, consider the above points and go for it! If you don’t make change happen, who will?

Amy Baruch is medical staff president, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Spartanburg, SC.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Physicians: How to find a financial advisor

March 23, 2018 Kevin 0
…
Next

Using marijuana 2 times a month cost this doctor his license

March 23, 2018 Kevin 18
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Physicians: How to find a financial advisor
Next Post >
Using marijuana 2 times a month cost this doctor his license

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Amy Baruch, MD

  • Mindset matters: a doctor’s New Year resolutions

    Amy Baruch, MD
  • Innovation in the time of COVID-19

    Amy Baruch, MD

Related Posts

  • Don’t judge when trainees use dating apps in the hospital

    Austin Perlmutter, MD
  • Hospital administrators thinking about no-cost treatment which really helps patients

    John Corsino, DPT
  • The patient-physician relationship is in critical condition

    Ryan Enke, MD
  • When physician pay packages become hospital kickbacks

    Jordan Rau
  • Is the physician-patient relationship becoming a provider-client one?

    Rene Datta
  • 5 challenges of working in a county hospital

    Pranav Sharma, MD

More in Physician

  • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • How a $75 million jet brought down America’s boldest doctor

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • The dreaded question: Do you have boys or girls?

    Pamela Adelstein, MD
  • When rock bottom is a turning point: Why the turmoil at HHS may be a blessing in disguise

    Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD
  • How grief transformed a psychiatrist’s approach to patient care

    Devina Maya Wadhwa, MD
  • Fear of other people’s opinions nearly killed me. Here’s what freed me.

    Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

      Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD | Conditions
    • The dreaded question: Do you have boys or girls?

      Pamela Adelstein, MD | Physician
    • Rethinking patient payments: Why billing is the new frontline of patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • What happened to real care in health care?

      Christopher H. Foster, PhD, MPA | Policy
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why personal responsibility is not enough in the fight against nicotine addiction

      Travis Douglass, MD | Conditions
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Alzheimer’s and the family: Opening the conversation with children [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • AI in mental health: a new frontier for therapy and support

      Tim Rubin, PsyD | Conditions
    • What prostate cancer taught this physician about being a patient

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Conditions
    • Why fearing AI is really about fearing ourselves

      Bhargav Raman, MD, MBA | Tech

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 4 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

      Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD | Conditions
    • The dreaded question: Do you have boys or girls?

      Pamela Adelstein, MD | Physician
    • Rethinking patient payments: Why billing is the new frontline of patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • What happened to real care in health care?

      Christopher H. Foster, PhD, MPA | Policy
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why personal responsibility is not enough in the fight against nicotine addiction

      Travis Douglass, MD | Conditions
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Alzheimer’s and the family: Opening the conversation with children [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • AI in mental health: a new frontier for therapy and support

      Tim Rubin, PsyD | Conditions
    • What prostate cancer taught this physician about being a patient

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Conditions
    • Why fearing AI is really about fearing ourselves

      Bhargav Raman, MD, MBA | Tech

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

5 ways to build a relationship with hospital administrators
4 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...