Expecting the Unexpected

Typically, for most of us, our roles in the organization and some pre-planning dictate what each day will bring. Rounding on patients, meetings, budgeting paperwork, and the usual day-to-day requirements might be on the line-up. Occasionally though, things are thrown at us that are not on our agenda. We’ve seen our fabulous teams leap into action for last minute wedding planning for a dying patient, or meeting a similar family need. We’ve seen people come in on their days off for local disasters and weather-related incidents. We’ve seen our colleagues rally when new policies, such as deaf training, require last minute preparations, learning materials that need to be produced and new training classes scheduled. I’ve also had those days when an emergency hits and I have to drop everything and head out to a different facility to be on site and lend a hand.

However, a few weeks ago my calendar was booked for thirty minutes with the video team to talk about our recycling accomplishments in our operating rooms. This was planned in advance and was on my calendar. I have to confess though that since I only had two lines, I didn’t really study the script in advance. Next thing I know, I’m being asked to remove all the papers and folders from my desk so a crew from the operating rooms can fill it with blue sterile wrap. And sure enough, a few minutes later, a parade of blue-scrubbed folks parade in – each with an arm full of blue wrap! Being an observant fellow though, some of our “operating room” team members looked suspiciously like folks I’ve seen here at Cambridge Court from Human Resources, the Foundation and Government Affairs. And I come to find out most of them agreed to lend a hand at the last minute. In the middle of their routine day they were asked to don blue scrubs, line up and drop the blue wrap on my desk until I could no longer be seen.

What I love about these stories though is that when they are told, I never hear any complaining. What I do hear is the camaraderie created and the sense of pride for having stepped up to the plate and helped out when needed. I think the Inova difference is that we are able to handle whatever is thrown at us, blue wrap included, and do so with grace. When was the last time you or someone you know were caught off guard and ended up with a good story to share?

Oh, and by the way, if you want to see our brilliant acting skills, you can watch the video on YouTube – it’s called “The Recycle Mash!”