Welcome to Module 7, Session 2 of the Cardiovascular Program Coordinator Course. This module is Improving Facilitation with content provided by Deb Kepin, Christy Chambers, and Michelle Wood. In Part 2, you will learn a few tools and techniques you can use to engage your Accreditation Committee members. You will learn to recognize and deal with challenges before they escalate, and how best to move change forward, supporting your efforts with current research, guidelines, and best practice examples. Providing positive reinforcement when assigned tasks are moving forward successfully is an essential leadership skill. You will also have individuals on your team who may struggle with their delegated assignments. Regular follow-up and feedback, along with open dialogue regarding the challenges those that struggle are facing, is important. Brainstorming among the committee to find different approaches to tackle the barriers may be helpful. Be sure you have provided the research and resources to support the need for change. The Accreditation Tool contains those resources. At times, you may need to take the matter to senior leadership. They will likely be more apt to provide intervention and support if you have provided the reason for the change. Good examples might be demonstrating the need to stop the use of multi-marker strategy when ruling out acute coronary syndrome that is no longer supported by current guidelines and adds unnecessary costs. Another may be supporting the need for a revised serial troponin strategy that may currently be at 0, 6, and 12 hours to a more contemporary strategy of 0, 3, and 6 hours that may result in a reduced length of stay for patients. One of the first signs of conflict is body language. Look for signs of frustration such as facial expressions and eye rolling. Recognizing these signs of early conflict will help you to become more proactive in preventing the conflict rather than reactive once the conflict has been created. Professional differences can arise but generally do not result in open conflict. Personality issues can arise simply because individuals do not like each other. When conflict does arise, it is important to resolve the issue before it destroys committee relationships. Members may differ in what they view as a priority based upon their own departmental or personal needs. There can, however, be benefits to conflict, including better understanding that gives way to achieving goals jointly. In any case, it is important to handle conflict effectively. Listen carefully to both sides before speaking. Present the rationale supporting one or the other opinions using research, guidelines, etc. The best defenses against conflict often involve preparing thoroughly before the meeting. If you run a tightly structured meeting, there is less chance that individuals who attend those meetings will try to pursue their own agendas. Throughout this section, we have discussed the importance of using research and guidelines to support the need for process change. Once you have gained buy-in for the change, there will be a need to present ongoing data to monitor progress toward achieving goals identified by the committee and made part of your charter. Display the data in a manner that is easily understood by everyone. Identify and utilize the program champions and early adopters as support. Be visible. Share charter goals and related data at staff meetings and huddles to continue support and buy-in. Provide examples of how others have successfully implemented specific changes and the benefits realized for patients. Most departments have a colleague who might be considered an influencer. Typically, they are the individual who the team may seek out when there are issues to resolve or may have an idea they would like to see considered. They are respected by their peers and managers alike. These are the people who can take initiatives to frontline staff and gain support. They motivate others and are grassroots representatives of transforming culture. Building relationships with these influencers is important, especially if a change will be impacting their department. Getting them on board with the change by presenting data, research, efficiency, etc. will result in a less painful transition. They will become your supporters who can influence others in the department to embrace the new way of doing things. Remember that the grassroots or frontline staff persons may be motivated less by dollars saved and more by the impact upon patient care. Try to put an emphasis on both, but lean a bit more toward the latter in seeking support. It is important to honor and recognize the existence of contentious items, but without interrupting the focus and goals of your meeting agenda. Conflict may arise when people perceive that they or something they believe in is threatened. For example, a project they've worked hard on that they feel may be compromised. You need to explore the issue and come to a full understanding of what it is. Maybe the perception is correct and the person has a right to feel threatened. In any case, you need to address the situation. Take things offline. If the conflict involves sensitive or confidential information, have the confidence to acknowledge the disagreement and arrange to discuss it later at a specific time. One method of moving these disagreements is the utilization of the parking lot, which is covered in the next slide. Dealing with resistors during meetings can take one of two paths. The resistor can begin to monopolize the meeting, taking time away from important agenda items, or the facilitator can use the parking lot technique and agenda to get the meeting back on track. Non-agenda items always seem to find their way into meetings, but it is important to honor and recognize the existence of these challenges. The use of a parking lot involves recording these issues on paper, ensuring that they will be remembered and addressed, but without interrupting the ongoing conversation. If time permits, the issue can be discussed after all of the agenda items are completed or may occur in a one-on-one meeting at a later time in a more focused manner. As always, use your knowledge of the research, guidelines, and best practices to support the need for change during these conversations. Let's circle back around to see how Alex is doing. At each committee meeting, Alex presents data from the Accreditation Conformance Database to assess progress toward meeting goals. When the data does not demonstrate improvement despite process interventions, some members of the committee become frustrated and are unwilling to make necessary changes to the current plan to meet certain tool items. What are some options Alex can use to avoid what can become contentious behavior that pulls time away from other agenda items during committee meetings? It is important to recognize the existence of contentious behavior without interrupting the ongoing conversation. Offering to discuss the issue either outside of the meeting or after it ends allows the individual to feel they are being heard and helps one better understand the underlying reason for the resistance. Using the parking lot technique allows the resistors to feel as though they have been heard while moving the meeting forward. This concludes Module 7, Session 2 of the Cardiovascular Program Coordinator course.

Module 7

Cardiovascular Program Coordinator Course

improving facilitation

Accreditation Committee

engaging committee members