Virtual team member perspectives on personal development: A sequential explanatory study

The use of virtual teams in organizations has shifted upward exponentially since the onset of COVID‐19, yet available research does not include findings based on workplace virtual team members, as opposed to student populations. Research is limited on what virtual workplace team members consider important in the performance coaching and personal development processes. Research on virtual team member perspectives is valuable for human resource professionals and organizational leaders and particularly helpful to organizations struggling to respond to the new work‐at‐home environment. The purpose of the mixed‐methods study was to explore the perspectives of virtual team members about how performance coaching, mentoring, and training contribute to their personal development. Participants for the study were members of social network virtual team groups who have been members of virtual work teams. The sequential explanatory study data was from a sample of 149 virtual team members (12 for the pilot survey and 137 for the full study). The Kruskal–Wallis results led to the rejection of the null hypothesis at an overall significance level of 0.05, with significance levels of 0.014 for coaching and 0.008 for mentoring, indicating a perceived positive contribution from performance development efforts (coaching and mentoring) on the personal development of individual virtual team members. These results on the interpersonal aspects of virtual teams from team members and consideration of perspectives on their personal development provide organizations, leadership, and human resources professionals, valuable information to improve virtual teams and the team member experience in normal and unusual work situations.

In-basket scrubbing to improve geriatrician well-being

Background Our 2019 survey showed 50% of geriatricians had burnout by Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), 79% had electronic medical record (EMR) frustration, 54% spent >60 minutes on the EMR outside of workday and 32% spent >60 minutes/day on clerical work. The COVID-19 pandemic added to the strain. In September 2020, 69% of our geriatricians reported in-basket management makes them feel “most overwhelmed.” Prior research shows the benefit of nonphysician staff reviewers for in-basket messages. We will improve geriatrician well-being and productivity with a new Patient Coordinator In-basket Scrubber Intervention. Methods We will target 21 geriatricians providing primary care to older adults at three outpatient sites. We will recruit and train two Patient Coordinators (PCs) who will lead a novel In-basket Scrubber intervention. Initially, the PCs will be the first contact to scrub (screen and send to correct team member) all in-basket messages from the call center. They will identify inefficient communication patterns, code messages by “team member” and “domain” and determine the destination and/or outcome of the messages. The PCs will train administrative assistants (AAs) to assess, complete and/or appropriately redirect providers' in-basket messages to team nurses, social workers or the physician. We will also target our telehealth workflow to improve scheduling and appointment confirmation, reduce no-shows and convert canceled visits to tele-visits, thereby increasing reimbursable visits. Results Results forthcoming. At months 0, 6, 12, and 18, we will assess physician EMR burden, well-being, and productivity. Measures include: EMR burden (Number of Inbox Inputs per workday, Time in Inbox per workday, Work after Work 7pm to 7am);Well-being (Subjective Inbox Burden, Maslach Burnout Inventory);Productivity (In-person visits Televisits, Medicare Annual Wellness Visits, advance care planning bills, chronic care management bills, work relative value units). We expect the intervention to reduce EMR burden and improve well-being and productivity. We also expect new revenue to offset costs. By reducing clerical burden and optimizing billable time for care coordination, we expect to double our Chronic Care Management billing (estimated $75,000/year). Conclusions We will improve geriatrician well-being through a new In-basket Scrubber Intervention.

Creation of a diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative to address systemic racism

Background: Catalyzed by the horrific death of George Floyd, a Black man, significant concrete efforts to engage workplaces in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives has gained prominence and administrative backing among workplaces in the United States. A diverse academic geriatrics & palliative medicine department in New York City began meeting weekly in Town Hall sessions to debrief & discuss workplace, local, & national concerns. Discussions focused on COVID19, the Black Lives Matter movement, structural racism, & patient care inequities. These events ignited greater DEI initiatives to meet departmental needs. This report serves to highlight key program components & lessons learned in launching a structured DEI initiative in the academic medicine setting. Methods: First, a new DEI core & department administration met 2-4 times/month to plan & review DEI program activities, vision, & mission. Confidential roundtable discussions about DEI issues & 1:1 interviews were conducted to assess needs. A monthly Humanities, Arts, & Books (HAB) Initiative provided a safe space for discussion & l earning. The HAB platform supported a longitudinal curriculum emphasizing (1) group discussion & self-reflection on DEI topics, (2) knowledge dissemination including a “Learning Pathway” series, & (3) skill-based workshops. With each event, we collected anonymous feedback via survey. Comments were systematically recorded & engagement evaluation was conducted in order to iteratively shape future sessions. Departmental administration was engaged to track DEI-focused measures of recruitment, career advancement, & retention. Finally, we centralized DEI activities on a departmental website, including an anonymous online feedback box. Results: Quantitative & qualitative assessment of DEI initiatives are forthcoming. Metrics include DEI & professional development surveys, departmental demographic & diversity measures, increase in DEI-related projects and grants, & individual participation DEI programs. Conclusions: Creating a strong and sustainable DEI initiative within an academic medical setting requires a passionate and diverse core to centralize efforts, deliberate backing by administration, & thoughtful dissemination of sensitive content in the midst of a highly charged social justice landscape.

Digital triage: Novel strategies for population health management in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unique challenges for the U.S. healthcare system due to the staggering mismatch between healthcare system capacity and patient demand. The healthcare industry has been a relatively slow adopter of digital innovation due to the conventional belief that humans need to be at the center of healthcare delivery tasks. However, in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, artificial intelligence (AI) may be used to carry out specific tasks such as pre-hospital triage and enable clinicians to deliver care at scale. Recognizing that the majority of COVID-19 cases are mild and do not require hospitalization, Partners HealthCare (now Mass General Brigham) implemented a digitally-automated pre-hospital triage solution to direct patients to the appropriate care setting before they showed up at the emergency department and clinics, which would otherwise consume resources, expose other patients and staff to potential viral transmission, and further exacerbate supply-and-demand mismatching. Although the use of AI has been well-established in other industries to optimize supply and demand matching, the introduction of AI to perform tasks remotely that were traditionally performed in-person by clinical staff represents a significant milestone in healthcare operations strategy.