Mentoring at LifeCare Health
Over the last few years at LifeCare we have introduced a mentoring system into the Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine practices that we own and operate. Moving from an informal, non structured process to a system that dictated how we were to mentor and at what specific times was a challenge for me. I had been used to a more ad hoc, slightly hit and miss approach, which had a degree of success but never created a predictable, sustainable result that improved the retention and development of clinicians in the business. We decided to review the results of the system and found some interesting items. In summary those who engaged with the program (completed documents, attended mentor and other education sessions and were generally and genuinely seen to apply what they learnt) were found to have measures that were around 20% better than those who did not. In other words the anecdotal improvements we observed we confirmed by analysis.
We continue to grow and develop the system we have and believe that effective mentoring from those who have the experience and follow the system is the key to success in Health practice. If you want to know more I recommend you email me and I will provide the results of our study to you.
How to assist your people for better results by mentoring and teaching them what matters!
The Mentor
Over the years I have mentored many practitioners. I am aware that to develop your people takes time and patience as well as a consistent approach where respect, mutual expectation and understanding are built. The primary role of the mentor is to assist others to improve performance and grow professional! The role is about providing feedback and developing a relationship upon which trust will grow. With trust, your ability to be an effective mentor will be enhanced. Do not have the expectation that because you have authority people will listen or engage with you as this is a mistake. A mentor mentee relationship is one of mutual respect.
Spending time on this role is the key to the development of a successful, sustainable and profitable practice as it is by the work and engagement of those who work with you that your practice will grow and thrive.
One needs to have some credibility to be a competent and effective mentor. In a service business, be it in health or another industry, having some “runs on the board” is essential. In other words having been a practitioner yourself who has had to grow a practice, has had to develop a referral base and who has taken the opportunities for professional development will be the “runs on the board” I speak of. To make engagement effective it helps to have “real life stories and experiences to draw from. These will assist you to add value and gain the engagement you will need. As we have stated respect comes from the development of trust.
This will come from:
- Meeting commitments
- Clarifying expectations
- Open and honest communication.
This communication from you will be both caring and supportive and at times more courageous where you deliver clear and honest messages about perfromance.
Teaching
The need for training does not imply that those you engage have not had some formal teaching or technical training. Depending on the experience they have had and the time since they graduated from their academic education they may bring many skills and abilities to the business. There are however many aspects that will be underdeveloped particularly in the commercial and business domain. Most colleges and universities do not prepare people in an understanding of appropriate commercial behaviours one needs to be successful in any private practice. Having technical knowledge does not always mean that practitioners understand clinical reasoning and how to manage their patients and practice. There is a difference between treating patients and managing them.
Teaching Resources
We can recommend that you develop some sort of directory that stores the teaching resources that you will develop yourself, acquire from other places and maybe even engage a consultant to develop for you. One method of managing such resources is to develop and intranet that sits as a private part of your web site. An intranet is secure for your people to access via a password and when administered well will assist you to keep your documents up to date. An intranet is a living thing and needs to be updated and developed regularly so it is current for the day. Your aim is to develop greater independence in your practice culture.
It is important to create a clear table of contents so the relevant documents can be accessed quickly and easily. This can also be facilitated by having a search function as part of the system. Categorising the documents is also necessary. Think of the broad areas that will need to be taught such as:
Clinical and Commercial documents and then sub categories thus:
- Relationship Marketing
- Patient management
- Forms and policies i.e leave forms, sexual harassment policy
- OH and S manual
- Procedures i.e stock system, billing procedures, item analysis etc
- Practice building and growth
- Leadership and management
The task may seem onerous to develop a good teaching system but take your time and try and add documents sequentially and you will get there!
Key Points To Remember
• Set the agenda for discussions
• Make the time to meet regularly
• Create and understand mutual expectations and ensure they are met
• Make sure the objectives they set are theirs and not just what you want
• Help them develop a formal plan including their clinical and commercial objectives
• Illustrate with lots of stories from your experience to make the time you spend more interesting and engaging
• Develop some teaching resources that will assist them with learning about the importance of commercial success
Business skills help to build a sustainable private practice
The following is from NAB's Business Research and Insights
Poor business skills can limit even the best healthcare practitioner’s ability to earn a good income and build a sustainable career.
“I know of incredibly skilled and experienced people who have left their profession because they couldn’t support themselves and their families,” says Michael Kenihan, General Manager of LifeCare Health, Australia’s largest network of allied health and sports medicine practices.
Frustrated by this waste of talent, he was inspired to share the skills he had acquired during his own varied and successful career. He established LifeCare Business Mentoring to help up and coming clinicians then, when results confirmed the practical value of this kind of support, he co-founded Knowledge and Learning Solutions International (KALSI) to make education and mentoring available online.
FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES
LifeCare Business Mentoring is based on the principles of clinical excellence, commercial success, cultural leadership and customer service.
“We constantly remind people that private practice isn’t just a clinical pursuit, it’s a business pursuit,” he says.
The program covers all aspects of business from developing a strategic plan and financial management to leadership skills. It also teaches commercial behaviours.
“These days being technically capable isn’t enough – people expect as high a level of customer service from a practitioner as they do from someone in retail,” says Kenihan. “If you don’t make the effort to build a rapport with your patients they’re unlikely to come back, or to help you build your business with word-of-mouth recommendations.”
AN AFFINITY WITH SPORT
A former South Australian high jump champion, Kenihan trained as a physiotherapist after a severe ankle injury prevented him from competing. As a clinician, he treated over 30,000 patients, including the Richmond Football Club AFL team, before turning his attention to creating, developing and operating private healthcare practices. He is also a past president of Sports Medicine Australia
“I’ve found that the same principles apply in business as sport,” he says. “For example, your technical skill is the foundation of your success but you also need to focus, work hard and function well as part of a team. And, whether you’re a cricketer or an osteopath, you need passion and commitment to what you do.”
He also believes that every venture starts with a clear goal.
“As a high jumper, I used to sit on the track visualising how I was going to get over the bar,” he says. “Now I encourage practitioners to visualise exactly what they want to achieve in their career.”
FIVE TIPS FOR BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE
- Don’t expect too much too soon. “The first couple of years are about learning, not earning,” says Kenihan.
- Be prepared to work outside regular business hours so that you’re available to your patients when it’s most convenient for them.
- Observe more experienced practitioners at work whenever you have the opportunity.
- Be prepared to spend time building and maintaining good relationships and strategic alliances with people who can refer patients to you.
- Make the effort to build rapport with your patients. Even little things, such as addressing them by name, smiling at them when they first come in and taking them back to the reception desk to arrange future appointments, will help them to feel confident, comfortable and well cared for.