Hello from the UMGMA board! Thank you for being a vital part of our medical management community. Your perspective and participation are the heart of our organization and as a board we value the opportunity to serve you.
I am currently enjoying maternity leave with a dear baby boy in my arms. With the extra time to my thoughts (and a lot less sleep), I’ve been thinking about the value of time. Watching his little body grow while experiencing this new role (rollercoaster) as a mom of two, I keep pondering on Gretchen Rubin’s words, “The days are long but the years are short”.
In her book The Happiness Project, Gretchen experiments with setting goals centered on happiness for an entire year, and *gasp* completes them. Her journey is insightful and relatable, and it is one of my favorite reads. Gretchen opens her book with this quote,
There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
Can you relate? While Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up series is having its moment in households across the nation, the glow of New Year’s resolutions have otherwise worn off at this point in the year, making it a perfect time to pause and evaluate. So, how seriously do you take your happiness? Within the context of medical practice management, I’ll share a few takeaways from Gretchen’s Work: Aim Higher chapter, including: 1) enjoy the fun of failure and 2) ask for help.
Enjoy the fun of failure. As you take a minute to reflect on the satisfaction you feel with your nine-to-five, think about your last work failure. Was it fun? Probably not… but one of my favorite takeaways from the book is that if you’re not failing, you’re missing out on opportunities to stretch yourself, to be creative, and to shine IF you give yourself the opportunity. While I oftentimes shy away from risk, reflecting on some of my failures in this context helps me see how I’ve become a better manager because of my failures. Some of my biggest risks are my greatest accomplishments; some of my worst mistakes are my greatest teachers. I know we’ve all got stories like this. And, while I was not necessarily having fun in the moment of failure, I’d like to challenge myself to take on a few more risks this year in terms of project and team management. How can you enjoy the fun of failure this year?
Ask for help. Early in my career, I was in the process of making an industry change from non-profit management to medical practice management. A practice manager graciously let me interview him to learn more about his role and he told me about UMGMA. Soon after I landed my first clinical management position I attended a UMGMA event, and had found my people. As a newbie managing an independent clinic, I really valued asking how other managers problem-solved, how they worked with their providers toward creative solutions, and how they empowered patients. When is the last time you asked for help, either at an UMGMA event or elsewhere within your career?
Again, “The days are long but the years are short”. Take a moment to evaluate your happiness and make sure you’re on the path you want to be on. Feel free to share any ideas or resources on how you enjoy the fun of failure, or ask for help on our Facebook page.
Gina Lee
Member-At-Large, UMGMA
Practice Manager, Wasatch Pediatrics