It is human nature to make associations which are based on our experiences, attitudes and beliefs, helping us to “fill in the blanks” and reach quick and intuitive assumptions. However it is inevitable that not all of our associations with be helpful and that not all of our assumptions will be correct.
In the world of stereotypes for example doctors are clinical purists who focus upon individual patients. Managers on the other hand are financial realists who consider wide patient groups and categories. Although these statements are sweeping generalisations there is often a gulf between doctors and managers with clashes arising from differing challenges and points of view. Another strong instinct of human behaviour is to develop tribes with clearly perceived groups of “them” and “us” further contributing to the divide.
At last week’s Scottish Medical Leadership Conference 2014 in Edinburgh it was very refreshing to listen to the presentation by the team from Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Two doctors together with two managers from the trust delivered an engaging session titled “Paired Learning for Excellence”.
The principle is really simple. Each doctor in the pilot was paired with someone from the trust’s management team and introduced to each other. They were not told what to do with self-direction following an email introduction a key principle. Initial meetings over a coffee progressed for some to regular discussion meetings to share experiences. Some pairs spent time in shadowing activities, some doctors contributed to meetings and business cases which they would not previously have been involved with and some pairs set about developing service improvement projects.
Fundamentally the sharing of contextual knowledge along with the day to day understanding of “how things really work” has served to expand the area of shared knowledge, leading directly to improved teamwork and the breaking down of “them and us”
It was telling that in the course of this day, which was concentrated up the development of leadership and management in the NHS, that this short presentation resulted in a large number of questions. There was a great deal of interest in the simple idea of networking to enhance cross-team communication using a method which, at its simplest level required no real financial budget. Needless to say the idea is gaining weight and spreading to other NHS Trusts and organisations.
