Visiting OMS practices is my favorite part of OMS Consulting Firm, and one of the reasons is because I get to see how different OMS practices implement best practices in the 9 Domains of OMS Practice Management. Continuing my blog post series, I’m excited to share another best practice I witnessed, this time in Organizational Governance at Evergreen Oral Surgery in Tacoma, Washington, owned by Dr. Andrew Wightman.
In the Organizational Governance domain of OMS Practice Management, the owner-surgeon and other practice leaders develop, implement, and maintain protocols that ensure high performance of the OMS practice. When this is working well, we see strong clinical outcomes, happy patients, satisfied staff, and strong financial performance.
When visiting Evergreen Oral Surgery, I was impressed by the culture of teamwork that Dr. Wightman and the practice managers have cultivated. In particular, they had this motto of ACT: “Attitude, Consistency, and Teamwork.” Part of leadership and governance is helping your team feel inspired and another part of it is directing that inspiration and energy toward clear goals and work behaviors in the practice. What I like about ACT is that the practice leaders have established clear expectations for staff: 1) bring a positive attitude to the office and your interactions with patients, 2) be a reliable staff member who makes consistent contributions to the team, and 3) support your colleagues. If you think about it, these three components are interactive as well — if you’re bringing a positive attitude, you’re likely a better teammate, and when you work on a strong team, you feel better and are better able to bring your best to work consistently.
A lot of times we think of practice governance as protocols, processes, compliance, etc. But a big part of ensuring those aspects of the practice are achieved is building a team and a work culture in which people feel motivated and empowered to contribute to the protocols, processes, and compliance. And that’s what I see at Evergreen Oral Surgery: governance through inspiration and clear expectations for staff, including the people who lead the practice.
It’s my hope that there’s something here you can take from this and apply to your own practice, whether that’s ACT or something like it, to help promote strong practice governance through positive leadership. If you have any suggestions or feedback, too, we’d love to hear it!
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