Calif. Medical Director Shares ‘Time Study FAQ’s' Used To Educate Staff And Raise Participation Rates

Low participation rates are most often cited as the biggest challenge in administering time studies. Given that hospital staff are already overburdened, this is not surprising. However, the problem is surmountable, and a critical component is education. 

Since one of the most powerful ways to learn is by example, we are grateful to have found a real-life example provided by a Chief Medical Officer in California. Other than anonymizing this document, which this organization uses for GME (Graduate Medical Education), we have kept it as it was when presented to the staff.

All too often, financial and operations teams force time studies onto the staff, give them cursory training, and then leave them to it. Slowing down and giving the “why” of time studies is essential to earning the clinical staff’s buy-in. 

What makes this brief document a valuable tool for encouraging participation? Following is a copy of the memo in which we have called out key elements as well as redacted all identifying information:

Thanks to our friend, who allowed us to share his work, which may encourage others to redouble their efforts in using education to overcome staff resistance to participating wholeheartedly in the time study process.