
HealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsDeliver custom or industry designed product training directly to patient and resident care environments to reinforce proper use.
View All ProductsTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsHealthStream's EMS Program offers a comprehensive, CAPCE accredited EMS course library that meets National Registry annual recertification.
View All ProductsMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream's solutions allow your healthcare workforce to be confident and competent with the knowledge they are upholding the highest of standards.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreThis guest blog post by Vicki Searcy, Vice President, Client Success and Consulting, from VerityStream is the first of two examining the role of the Medical Staff Services Leader.
In most hospitals, the medical staff organization is supported by one or more medical staff professionals (MSPs). These individuals may be called by different titles, but their key responsibilities relate to supporting the work of the hospital and medical staff organization related to credentialing and privileging; which encompasses a lot of functions including development of practitioner profiles that provide information about competency of granted privileges, management of medical staff governance meetings, etc.
Although MSPs interact at some point with most of the members of the medical staff organization, individuals granted clinical privileges and many individuals who work for the organization; key relationships are with elected and appointed medical staff leaders. Since medical staff leaders are subject to periodic change (particularly in organizations where leaders are elected – which is still how the majority of medical staff leaders find themselves in a leadership position), MSPs are learning to work with a wide variety of personalities, as well as with leaders who may or may not be well-prepared for their new position. MSPs want all medical staff leaders to be successful – because the success of medical staff leadership contributes to their success and to the overall success of the entire healthcare organization. MSPs usually are quite passionate about the impact that the work of the medical staff organization has upon patient safety – they want to be part of your success.
What do MSPs have to say about what it takes to be a successful leader? Here is advice to medical staff leaders that I have gathered during my 30 years of work with healthcare organizations:
Many medical staff leaders attend various conferences to learn about their roles and responsibilities and how to be successful as a medical staff leader. Education about roles and responsibilities is critical – whether it means attending a seminar, having an internal orientation program, or reading material targeted towards medical staff leaders. All of these things can help a medical staff leader avoid being a mediocre or poor leader.
It is very sad when a Medical Staff President says that his/her goal for the year is to just get through the term of office without having a hearing or any “black marks” from the Joint Commissioner from CMS. I’m currently working with a medical staff organization where the legacy of the current leaders will be the design and implementation of a robust criteria-based privileging system. Which legacy is going to give a medical staff leader the most satisfaction and be most important to excellent patient care? You be the judge.
Hoping that a problem (such as a disruptive physician, a lack of performance data to be used for evaluation of competency of physicians, etc.) will just go away or will be solved without any intervention is not a viable solution. These problems never just go away.
As a medical staff leader, you need to complete your records on time, adhere to medical staff and hospital policies and procedures, etc. in order to be a credible leader. I remember the time when the Chief of Staff at my hospital talked to the medical staff (at the urging of hospital administration) about wearing professional attire while in the hospital. The Chief of Staff was wearing what could only be described as clothing appropriate for the beach –not in the hospital (where the meeting was being held, by the way). As he spoke, there were loud snickers from the physicians who were attending the meeting and the message was lost.
Have a standing weekly meeting with the director of the medical staff office. This should be rather obvious as most staff in the medical staff office want to provide support and services to make doing your job more manageable. Meet them halfway and they will almost always do what it takes to help make your term of office a success.
Learn More about VerityStream.
HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsImprove the preparedness of your staff, increase survival rates, and cut costs with the advanced resuscitation training services from HealthStream.
View All ResuscitationNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsHealthStream's EMS Program offers a comprehensive, CAPCE accredited EMS course library that meets National Registry annual recertification.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream's solutions allow your healthcare workforce to be confident and competent with the knowledge they are upholding the highest of standards.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsDelivers everything you need to request, gather, and validate information about a provider to create a single source of truth for downstream processes.
View All CredentialingMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All Scheduling & Capacity ManagementHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All Products