The COVID pandemic presented numerous challenges, from managing virus spread and evolving treatment protocols to dealing with misinformation and supply shortages. These pressures—and those since including financial losses and shortage of care givers—have severely tested healthcare workers' resilience, impacting their ability to support their teams and patients effectively.

On the latest episode of the Key In To Quality podcast, guest, Lisa Hardesty, Ph.D., clinical health psychologist, Mayo Clinic Health System, shares her extensive expertise in stress, burnout, and resilience. Dr. Hardisty has developed various programs to help healthcare workers cope with burnout, which often manifests as absenteeism, cynicism, and reduced empathy. She highlights the importance of resources like employee assistance program and more that can help foster resilience and enhance staff engagement and satisfaction.

In healthcare, quality is not optional; it’s imperative. However, not every employee arrives trained to bring a quality mindset to their work—whether clinical or operational. At Mayo Clinic, the Quality Academy sets the standard for the organization’s relentless pursuit of quality excellence.

In the latest episode of the Key in to Quality podcast, guests Ross Reichard, M.D., pathologist and medical director and Matt Cox, M.S., quality improvement advisor III, both with the Quality Academy, Mayo Clinic, discuss how their work brings formal education to the world of healthcare quality.

The episode, entitled “Quality Academy: The Heart of Mayo Clinic Quality Improvement,” shares how their multi-level courses equip staff with tools to identify opportunities for enhancement and to champion impactful improvement in service to patients, which ultimately delivers on Mayo Clinic’s primary value: The needs of the patient come first.” Learn more about opportunities with the Quality Academy.

Host: Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/timorgenthaler/

Host: Sheri Nemec| https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sheri-nemec-a627982a/

Guests: Ross Reichard | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-reichard-093555226/ and Matt Cox | https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewcox75/

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In the latest episode of the Key In To Quality podcast, guest Michelle Nordland, manager, Project Management and Value Creation, Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic gets candid about her approach to transformative improvement and her belief that improvement can start with one person.

In this episode, Michelle shares how she challenges leaders to think differently about Lean methodologies and teaches staff members how to “fish” when it comes to growing and advancing quality improvement in a radiology practice.

Host: Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/timorgenthaler/

Host: Sheri Nemec| https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sheri-nemec-a627982a/

Guest: Michelle Nordland | http://linkedin.com/in/michelle-nordland-2b563339

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What makes quality improvement a daily norm? The mindset that “good enough isn’t good enough,” according to Sean Dowdy, M.D., chief value officer, Mayo Clinic and a recent guest on the Key In To Quality podcast.

In this episode, entitled “Quality Improvement is a Mindset: perspectives from a chief value officer,” Dr. Dowdy talks about his approach to fostering sustained improvement across Mayo Clinic’s multi-site, 80,000 employee enterprise. He shares his leadership philosophy, definition of high reliability, and how Mayo Clinic sets expectations.

The session is ideal for executive leaders/C-suite, board members, patient safety and experience leaders and staff, performance improvement experts.

Host: Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/timorgenthaler/

Host: Sheri Nemec| https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sheri-nemec-a627982a/

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Larry Senn, a pioneer in the field of corporate culture, said “Culture is not an initiative. Culture is the enabler of all initiatives.” That includes quality improvement according to Jessica Stellmaker, supervisor, Specimen Operations, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Mayo Clinic.

On the latest Key In To Quality podcast, Jessica shares a host of leadership best practices when it comes to creating an organizational culture that delivers the best quality outcomes. Chief among her thoughts: empower people to continuously improve and recognize improvement efforts quickly and consistently. Her recognition tactic is creative and motivating!

The session is ideal for quality improvement, medical, and administrative leaders, laboratory leaders, and anyone interested in building a culture of quality improvement.

Host: Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/timorgenthaler/

Host: Sheri Nemec| https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sheri-nemec-a627982a/

Guest: Jessica Stellmaker | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-stellmaker-6aa822110/

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It’s been said that “teamwork makes the dream work.” Eric Siebeneck, performance improvement advisor, our guest on this episode of the Mayo Clinic Key in to Quality podcast, agrees with this when it comes to healthcare organizations working to improve quality of care delivery. However, often the responsibility is siloed and even shouldered by one or two individuals. Collaboration, particularly with clinicians, is critical to achieving rapid and lasting performance improvement. According to Eric the key to effective and lasting change is in an organization’s culture. At Mayo Clinic, he facilitates and coaches teams within the clinical practice toward better outcomes. He says bridging gaps between people and departments generates new ideas, improves outcomes, and contributes to a more resilient, responsive, and joyful workplace. Eric shares common misperceptions about quality improvement and key success factors he’s discovered in his work.

As healthcare delivery systems work toward adoption of emerging digital technologies and more automation, many leaders grapple with the question of how much is too much. Are the human elements of care—comfort, empathy, and warmth—being diminished or lost along the way?

Our guests on the latest Key In To Quality podcast say it’s about awareness and balance. In the episode entitled “Tech with Heart: Navigating Innovation and Compassion in Healthcare,” Anne Pronschinske, vice chair, Center for Digital Health, Mayo Clinic and Rebecca Brustad, director, Patient Experience, Mayo Clinic, discuss the organization’s approach.

Together, they share insight into how Mayo Clinic is extracting the efficiencies of innovation while finding new ways to maintain the human aspects of patient care and experience. They assert that when the patient remains at the center of every decision, technology can benefit caregivers and free up time do deliver human-centered care and find more meaning and purpose in their work..

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Hosted by:

Hosted by: Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D., Vice Chair, Quality, Mayo Clinic, and Sheri Nemec, Consultation and Relationship Manager, Quality Department, Mayo Clinic

LinkedIn: Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D. and Sheri Nemec

Twitter: @DrTimMorg

Guests LinkedIn: Rebecca Brustad and Anne Pronschinske

Patient experience is about making patient healthcare journeys better; in creating improved experiences, healthcare delivery staff often enjoy better processes and outcomes. But who is responsible for creating patient experience improvement? Where does one start? And are innovation and automation at the center of it all? Not necessarily says our latest podcast guest.

In this episode of the Key in to Quality podcast, Lacey Hart, Administrator, Experience Relationship Management (XRM), Quality Department, Mayo Clinic, says that experience design focuses on the gaps between the experience points along a patient’s journey. Hart, who leads a team of experience relationship design professionals, discusses how Mayo Clinic’s patient experience strategy has created powerful synergy between people, processes, and technology, resulting in better interactions—and relationships—with patients.

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Hosted by:

Hosted by: Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D., Vice Chair, Quality, Mayo Clinic, and Sheri Nemec, Consultation and Relationship Manager, Quality Department, Mayo Clinic

LinkedIn: Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D. and Sheri Nemec

Twitter: @DrTimMorg

Guest LinkedIn: Lacey Hart