Unsung Heroes in the Working World - Time Out #234

Without any question, our American economic lifeblood is our dynamic work force.

No, I am not necessarily talking about the CEO's, bosses, or supervisors. I think the special sauce to the almost 250 years of our successful economic juggernaut in the USA is due in great part to our support staff, i.e., HARD WORKERS!

Of course, I totally realize a company cannot function without office "higher ups", but, dear readers of Our Town and far beyond, the real "shining jewels" are the working folks in their non-supervisory roles. These individuals ultimately make sure the jobs/missions get accomplished, with a little (?) help from their bosses. How do I know these pearls of wisdom?

I know because I have been a boss for over 40 years.

There are many reasons I chose my lifetime profession; by far #1 on my list was choosing a vocation in which I could help my fellow human beings. Somewhere in the complex decision mix, too, was my burning desire to be self-employed. Fortunately, I have been blessed to have loved my job choice, never having had any lingering doubts whatsoever. During my long working life, I have totally realized most of my employment success is due to my incredible support staff. For many years of having multiple offices, I have had lots of "moving parts" which also included over time, several mid-level medical providers I supervised, along with many other dedicated employees..

Wow, healthcare delivery has changed SO dramatically since I began my solo private practice in late 1978 in Chula Vista, CA, just south of San Diego, and only 7 miles north of Tijuana, Mexico. Even then, my excellent, bilingual, front office lady, Lorena, provided the "glue" to make the entire operation function. Because about 20% of my patient population was Hispanic and spoke no English, Lorena had to enter the examination rooms with me to act as my extra "ears" in translating the patients' Spanish into English. She was a wonderfully calm and kind person, also, both traits extremely valuable assets for my overall office operation in those early years.

After I relocated to my hometown ("Our Town") in 1981, I did bring 3 years of private practice experience with me, but knew I needed to rely heavily on my office support staff in order to function the best we could. Most of that "worker" credit goes to my loyal bride, Debbie, who has performed just about every required office duty since Day #1, while working with me. Probably her largest asset for me has been helping my regular working staff feel important, and performing the same tasks right along side them in the everyday duties. Her kindness to them was also always much appreciated. For over 30 years now, she continues to type my patient medical transcription information, and performs this difficult task as efficient as clockwork.

In the last decade, our American society changes have been dramatic, but, specifically, healthcare changes have been occurring under warp-speed conditions. Almost NO one completes medical school any longer, and then goes into a solo private practice. All providers now go to work for a hospital, government, large clinic, organization, or group, for a myriad of reasons. Certainly, one of the principal reasons their choice is made is today's medical graduates do NOT want to have the responsibilities of hiring and managing employees who, ultimately, will be the backbone of their medical practice. This hiring and supervising employees process is NOT taught in professional medical schools, so new graduates feel very uncertain in this area..

So, not an office day passes without me telling my hard-working, compassionate employees, just how much I appreciate their on-the-job efforts. As various office situations present themselves, I routinely pose the question to my faithful employees, "How would you react in this particular situation if you were the patient?"

To me, that is merely always employing the time-tested Golden Rule.