If you’re a busy healthcare professional, you will appreciate these 3 time management tips which will help you to work at your best with a lot less stress.
Time management is vital regardless of the type of profession. But when it comes to a healthcare professional, the importance of time management increases manifolds. As a professional, you need to strike the right balance between fulfilling your duties as professional and other responsibilities in daily life.
Failing at this skill may imply giving less attention to your patients or not making them understand the diagnosis. Finally, as a last resort, you might also start neglecting your health and family in the race of fulfilling your professional duties. Some of you might also be working and at the same time pursuing education as well.
As you might know, I’m a bestselling author and happiness researcher.
I wrote a book called Happy Habits.
In my research, I learned that you can boost your success and happiness by building up specific positive habits – and busting those naughty ones. In this article I’ll be focusing on helpful time management habits for busy healthcare professionals.
As a working professional, it might become challenging to give your job time, be present with your family, and fulfill the studies. So, what can you do?
The easiest way is to take an online degree. The flexible timing offered by online education helps a working professional manage time while not neglecting the family. Many healthcare practitioners are already opting for online courses.
An increasing number of enrollments are manifesting this trend. Parallel to taking online courses, there is another trend going on; looking for degree courses that do not require enrollment exams such as GRE or GMAT.
Preparing for this exam, along with a job, can be extremely daunting. Thus, many of you might have been postponing the idea of taking a Master’s degree for this reason. But online and distance learning programs are increasingly responding to these issues of healthcare professionals.
Many universities and institutions have eliminated this requirement. You can enroll in their masters in public health online no gre programs. As a healthcare professional, they offer you the most flexible programs with multiple specialization options. These programs can help you manage your time more prudently. There are few other time management skills to help you fulfill your duties without compromising your work quality.
When you are short of time with piles of responsibilities, the last thing you want to do is handle your duties like a hot potato in your hand. Juggling between different jobs and responsibilities is essential, but not one at the cost of the other. Thus, defining your goals will help you streamline your work according to the time you have.
Work to establish both long- and short-term goals and try to achieve them. Many healthcare professionals fall prey to a living-in-today-only mindset. Thus, they lose sight of what is going to happen in a few months from the present. For instance, you have to plan what time of the year you get the most significant number of patients and plan your activities accordingly.
Likewise, if you plan to enroll in an online degree, discuss with your supervisor and them onboard. Additionally, you might also need to make weekly goals. An essential component lined to defining goals is sticking to them. Otherwise, your milestones will not help you in your time management.
Many of you might have fallen victim to a patient’s visit at the last minute of your workday.
As much as you have to attend to those patients, your health and family are also important. Managing your appointments and giving them time slots can help you escape this hassle.
When giving appointments, ask the general questions, know your patients, and understand their concerns. This way, you can manage the slot for the next patient according to requirements.
You would never want your patient to feel that you are trying to get rid of them in haste. Making time slots this way can help you plan your workday with no surprise visits at the eleventh hour. At the same time, you can give proper attention to each patient.
You might have experienced some patients coming with a long list of issues. Most of them are related to finding solace in the fact that somebody is listening to them. But with a long line of patients, you can’t listen to them and their stories. It will help if you listen to the most important concerns related to diagnosis and treatment.
Still, you cannot act as a listening ear. Abruptly cutting them short is not only rude but can discomfort for the patient as well.
The best strategy is to use your body language to convey non-verbal cues and a subtle urgency message. As you judge, the patient has already discussed the primary concern, stand up towards the end of your conversation. This way, you are sending cues that other patients need your attention.
You may also start wrapping the conversation and offer to escort the patient to the door, signaling the end of the appointment.
Let it be healthcare or any other profession, time management is essential for any career. It becomes even more critical for healthcare professionals because they are working in a very responsible industry.
However, as a healthcare professional, neglecting your health and rest seems paradoxical. However, your busy schedule might make you feel that you don’t have enough time for other life activities. Following these time management skills can do wonders for you.
You can try using the tips mentioned above to see what works best for you. These tips might not be a panacea that works for all, but following them can help you find your perfect mix.
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