Words to live by

I’ve been poring over my notes from the 2014 NAMSS Educational Conference and Exhibition, and discovered a quote from Hugh Greeley’s Tuesday presentation, “This is What We Live For: Effectively Dealing with Our Most Complex Applicants and Re-Applicants,” that stands out. Describing the MSPs’ role in protecting the patient, facilitating clinical practice, and supporting organizational improvement, Greeley said, “You don’t live for validating the licensure or processing the paperwork … you live to make it better.”

In a three-day span that offered so much MSP and medical staff leadership insight, and plenty of other words to live by, his statement resonated because it acknowledges the medical staff services department’s potential contributions to process improvement. The goal is to create and execute the best processes possible—but changes are often necessary, there’s always room for improvement, and MSPs are in a unique position to influence that improvement. Greeley also noted that it can be better to influence than to command.

If your medical staff leadership listens when you ask the questions that can move care forward at your organization, I’d like to know. And if you were at the NAMSS event this week, was there one educational session that stuck out for you? I’d be interested to know about that, too.

Thanks for reading!

Mary Stevens, managing editor, Credentialing Resource Center