2015: A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER

I welcome you to a brand new year-2015! It is a year filled with possibilities, potentials, challenges and victories for you and your facility.

Towards the end of every year since I have been married, my lovely wife (being the planner in the family) starts "harassing" me with questions about the coming year. She wants to know my plans (not resolutions) for our family in the New Year. I must confess that I am quite lazy when it comes to planning (at least compared to her). However she forces me to put on my thinking cap (!) and think the coming year through from January to December.

If you have not done so, that is what I want you to do immediately after reading this post. Get a pen and paper and write your plans for 2015. And if you have already written your plans, read on because you will learn a few new things.

First, just write whatever comes to your mind no matter how absurd it may sound. It is important to write out your plans because the written document will serve as a reference point or road-map for your facility in 2015. Next, categorize those plans into the following categories:

-Financial plans

-Marketing plans

-Production plans

-Administrative plans.

Or you could departmentalize your plans viz

-OPD plans

-Pharmacy plans

-Theater plans 

-Ward plans etc

The next thing you need to do is to scrutinize each of those plans based on the feasibility or otherwise of the plan. Don't be over-pessimistic or over-optimistic. Be realistic and futuristic. Eliminate the ones that aren't workable, and then build on the ones that are workable. Think of new and better ways to serve your patients this year. Think of better ways to motivate your staff.

Following this, outline the plans you are going to implement. Set a target for how soon you want to implement them. After you have done this, communicate your plans to your staff. You need to discuss those plans and get the input of your personnel. This is important because a plan that is not accepted by your staff can never work. If possible modify them after the brainstorming session with your top level staff. 

Then go ahead and implement them. Please note that no plan is set in stone. Plans should be flexible and you are free to change your plans if they are not working.

On a final note, your plans should emphasize SMART goals.

S-Simple

M-Measurable

A-Acceptable

R-Realistic

T-Time Based

Enjoy 2015