Knox's Blog

“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

This bit of wisdom recently posted on Inova’s Facebook page caught my attention. I have a friend who is always upbeat. He has the ability to stand back in a seemingly objective manner and find humor in every situation. And sometimes I wonder why I can’t be more like Frank. I’ve stood with him and a small group of people who were all equally affected by a decision and while the rest of us were complaining and stewing a bit, Frank would chuckle and make light of the situation. And invariably, sometime down the road, when we would look back and reminisce, we too were able to join Frank, objectively chuckle and realize everything worked out in the end. Another acquaintance of mine is incredibly engaging. You’d think she was talking to the queen or king of England with almost each encounter she has. She is enthralled, passionate and excited. I wonder why I can’t be more like Kim.

One lesson I’ve learned from serving on various boards over the years is the importance of having many different personalities on a team. Barbara the school teacher used to drive us all nuts with her incredible attention to detail. We dare not move on if each “i” wasn’t dotted and each “t” crossed. And by golly, if the bylaws say you must have three estimates if spending over $500, you better not even think about asking for a vote if you haven’t brought your three estimates to the table. But without the Barbara’s to keep us in line, rules would be broken. And on this same board was Rick who loved to talk about how it used to be and discuss every option possible – for a long, long time. And then there was me, tapping my foot, eager to make a decision and move on. But it was easy to see that the key ingredient to our successes as a board was having such a well-rounded group. Attention to detail, bringing in prior lessons learned and different viewpoints, and a task master to move things along all led to better decisions and actions.

How boring would this world be if we were all the same? If everyone is thinking the same, someone isn’t speaking up! What’s unique about your team? When was a time that those differences really paid off?

One of the joys of my job is that I get to visit all of our many Inova facilities. One of the frustrations of my job is that I am unable to do so as often as I would like. When I am able to make rounds, I’m blown away by our diversity of talent and leave excited about something that I learned.  I wish I could share what I learn with everyone. Wouldn’t it be great if you could all join me when I round? Imagine the folks from Woodbridge being able to visit with their colleagues in Purcellville. Well, thanks to InovaTV we can all do a little virtual rounding each week.

By tuning in I’ve learned a great email organizational tip, I watched the central lab do a kaizan and plan out their new space, I was happy to see the joy of our colleagues riding the commuter shuttle on the 95 and 66 routes enjoying their speedy and peaceful daily trip to and fro, and I was able to watch EpicCare go live. All from the comfort of my desk! Wow!

Just this week, I was featured (in a small part) on  InovaTV. It wasn’t as favorable as I’d hoped, but it’s not bad.Take a look:

You have to tune into InovaTV to check out more (including a full link to the Jeopardy game): http://inovanet.net.inova.org/

And rest assured, I’m still out there actually rounding and look forward to seeing you soon, with or without the video team.  Please send me your ideas!

In my last “Dear Inova Family” letter, I talked about getting too caught up in my very busy days and forgetting to do a few things. A well-meaning colleague and friend felt that I was being too hard on myself. I laughed and shared with her a recent saying I heard which is that if we talked to others the way we talk to ourselves, we wouldn’t have any friends at all! But living a purposeful life means continually adjusting my sails to stay on track, rather than beating myself up.

It’s about remembering to make the time for the things that mean the most to me which requires an intentional effort. You know those moments we occasionally have when all is well with the universe, everything is clicking and you’re almost giddy with happiness? And then, that moment passes and the email comes in reminding us about the PowerPoints that are due. But wait, I never got that data I need to finish. Oh, and I need to call …. oh, and that other meeting is about to start ….and the day is over. And the positive experiences flow right by and are, in effect, wasted. And how much easier it is to remember the bad stuff. We tell everyone about the guy who cut us off in traffic this morning and complain about the person who never got back to us with the data. My goal is that I don’t want to be so rushed that I miss the miracle of the small things – the beauty of the now.

So how in the midst of chaos can we become centered? Ask a nurse! Our Inova nurses are the experts.  They know the power of being intentional and practicing mindfulness. Sometimes my action step is simply stopping, taking a deep breath and asking, “What is most important thing here?” Life has many challenges and our wisest course of action can simply be taking a second to remember that this moment will pass soon enough, so enjoy the beauty of it, even if it’s ugly!

For me, the purpose of being purposeful is that when I’m in the zone, I am happy and productive. I find that I’m more likely to remember not to let those small-yet-important-to-me tasks fall through the cracks. And I find that mood follows action. And the mood, when I’m in the zone, is happiness. Studies show that being happy leads to a stronger immune system and a more productive life, so being happy is my reward, not the main goal. What makes you happy? Send in your key ingredients and I’ll publish a “Recipe for Happiness” blog.

If you happen to hear raucous laughter as you walk past the conference room at the EpicCenter over on Backlick Road on a Thursday morning, you might think there isn’t much work getting done.  However, listen a little harder and you will know it’s all for the good of Inova – which ultimately means providing excellent patient care. How did I make that leap?

Because with the EpicCare Implementation Team (which is a microcosm of Inova’s employees), we are dealing with a group of very high-performer, Type-A personalities who know that everything we do boils down to providing excellent patient care.  These team members have been working long, hard hours – nights and weekends – doing whatever it takes to prepare for the big go-live days. Indeed this is a group in need of a moment or two of laughter. And this is part of Maggie Cornett’s job as the Director of the EpicCare Implementation.

“You’ve got to make it fun because it’s so intense,” said Carmen Crespo, March’s winner of the Overachiever Award. Carmen is one of the many who are willing to work any hour, day or night. She is the Team Lead for the Orders Team and can often be found at her desk on Sundays and answering emails from home on Saturday night.

Maggie created this Overachiever Award to recognize those who achieve more success than expected. She introduces a new winner each week at the team’s staff meeting.  The winner is presented with a framed certificate. The winner is also granted temporary possession of the Overachiever statue for a week or until the next winner is chosen. As you can imagine, EpicCare has many overachievers, so sometimes the purpose of the award is to poke fun. Patricia Mook, the first winner, won the award for not answering an email in a timely manner. She left work on a Friday at 6 pm and an email question came in half an hour later. Patricia didn’t pick up the email until Monday morning and felt terrible that she hadn’t checked. Maggie realizes that it is people like Patricia who pour their heart and soul into their work and therefore need to be reminded that their efforts are appreciated and they need to ease up on themselves too.

What is your game plan for rewards, recognition and fun?

Imagine receiving the news no one ever wants to hear – you have cancer. Fortunately, this is quickly followed by more hopeful news. Because they have your individual genetic data, they are able to precisely pinpoint the perfect preventative treatment and your outcome is significantly improved.

This isn’t a future dream, this is now!

Most everyone I know has lost loved ones due to cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and a host of other illnesses. This takes an emotional toll, creates financial concerns and is an overall time and energy drain on our daily lives. Several years back I was diagnosed with cancer, so you can imagine my joy at having beat it and my excitement that maybe one day, many such illnesses will be relegated to the history books.

I’m writing about this now because several people have asked me why genomics? Why now? And why Inova?

Inova has always been focused on improving the lives of those in our community and we’ve always been a leader in the industry. We also are blessed to serve a very diverse community. It is for these reasons we are able to have John Niederhuber, MD leading the way. Dr. Niederhuber, a nationally renowned surgeon and researcher, brings a lifetime of medical knowledge and vision to Inova.