Eye Team Participates in UMMHC Standards of Respect Initiative

Laura Flynn (Director of Performance, Learning & Education) & Pauline Huie (Sr. Organization Development Specialist), from the Organization & People Development team (OPD), facilitated the Standards of Respects workshop to the Eye Team at Hahnemann Clinic. The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences was selected as a pilot group due to their ingenuity and resourcefulness and being recognized as Innovators of the Year.

The Standards of Respect initiative is the result of a grass-roots effort aimed at creating a more respectful culture for our patients and their families, and for all UMMHC caregivers. 

The overarching goals of the workshop include introducing caregivers to the Standards of Respect, developing an awareness around the importance of this topic, facilitating an opportunity to do some self-reflection and introducing a feedback model to use in providing and receiving feedback from our colleagues.  This multi-media workshop was high-energy, fast-paced, and very engaging.  

Overall, the workshop was well attended by the Eye Team.  Below are a few thoughts about the workshop from our Eye Team members:

“After this workshop, I have started to pay more attention towards respecting the dignity and diversity in workplace while interacting with my colleagues. It has also helped me  communicate with my team so that we can become not only a better individual, but most importantly, a better team. “ Hemant Khanna, PhD., Associate Professor.

“We sometimes forget the way our words and or body language can be interpreted by others.  The Standards of Respect Workshop addresses these in a clear and funny way.  With little effort of being mindful of our words and actions can be one way to make for a pleasant work environment for everyone, every day”. Darlene Bocash-Winn, COT, Clinic Manager.

“This workshop is valuable to all of us. The way we treat each other, and communicate with each other, translates directly into quality of patients’ care, and influences patients’ satisfaction. We all need to become aware of our deficiencies, and commit to improving. I am grateful to OPD team for taking the time to educate us, to help us become better caregivers and better human beings”. Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, Department Chair.

Eye Team Leadership commitment to Standards of Respect - Dr. Schaal and the rest of our leadership team are fully committed and understand the importance of this initiative.  Our Eye Team can expect ongoing conversations and support in building a stronger culture of respect, to ensure that our colleagues and patients experience the highest level of respect by Everyone, Everyday.  The OPD Team will begin a system wide launch of this workshop in July.