{"id":2738,"date":"2020-04-02T14:14:03","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T18:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.med.virginia.edu\/kidsmatter\/?p=2738"},"modified":"2020-04-02T14:14:03","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T18:14:03","slug":"communication-and-culture-initiative-together-we-make-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.med.virginia.edu\/kidsmatter\/communication-and-culture-initiative-together-we-make-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Communication and Culture Initiative: Together We Make a Difference \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Headshot

Dr. Ann Kellams<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

By Ann Kellams, MD, Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs, Department of Pediatrics<\/em><\/p>\n

Healthcare is a profession of service.\u00a0No matter what your role, everything you do at work makes a difference in someone\u2019s life.\u00a0Together we make a difference.<\/p>\n

Q. Tell me more about the Communication and Culture Initiative.
\n<\/strong>A.<\/strong> This project started as a result of the Faculty Standpoint Survey and the Annual Employee Engagement Survey. The themes coming from these results spoke to the importance of communication and culture. I took the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Framework for Joy in Work course last spring and learned that if you are connected, you give better care. The Communication and Culture Initiative was a great way to put what I learned into action.<\/p>\n

Along with the leaders of Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s, I helped brainstorm ways to bring this project to life. We sent a communication survey to get more granular into responses and we got some great information from that. For example, we asked the question, \u201cHow would you like to be recognized?\u201d and most responded \u201cA personal thank you or a note.\u201d<\/p>\n

We came up with a list of approximately 30 suggestions for ways to recognize team members from the results, ranked them based on impact and effort, and narrowed down to 12. It was also important to the group to define our mission, vision, and goals, specific to Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s and the Department of Pediatrics has our own version that mirrors the work in the clinical areas.<\/p>\n

From there, we officially launched the UVA Women\u2019s and Children’s Communication and Culture Workgroup, an interdisciplinary workgroup was formed with representation from LIP\u2019s, nursing, management, inpatient, outpatient, Child Life, Radiology, OR, ED, etc. that meets monthly.<\/p>\n

Our goal is to have multiple ways to engage each month\u2013 with quotes of the week, inspirational videos, random acts of kindness, and spirit days. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n