I attended Friday night services at my synagogue, Temple Sinai, in New Orleans. Before the service began, the rabbi, Ed Cohn, asked if anyone in the congregation had good news that occurred over the preceding week, which they wished to share with others attending the service. People stood up and announced engagements, anniversaries, the first words spoken by a child or grandchild, a book’s publication, the visit by a family member or friend whom they hadn’t seen in many years, the graduation of a child or grandchild. I noticed that the congregation’s attitude or “vibe” was lifted and that audience members enjoyed sharing their lives with others in the congregation.

I was very impressed by this experience. The rabbi’s question motivated congregants to start their Sabbath with a remembrance of the good things that were going on in their lives. I was impressed by its impact on the congregants as well as myself. I started to bring this ritual into our home. Every evening at our dinner table, we would go around the table and tell us the best thing that happened that day. Often, the responses were humorous, such as a “classmate didn’t hit him, or she scored a goal in soccer, or she got a good grade.”

Nearly every employee considers the prospect of a 1-hour staff meeting with the same enthusiasm as Prometheus awaited the daily arrival of the eagle, sent by the gods to peck at his liver! Meetings have been a form of torture for office staff for as long as they have pushed pencils and fingered their keyboards. I have seen staff glaze over with boredom or, worse, show a lack of attention by using their cell phones beneath the table. So, how can we make staff meetings more engaging and interactive?

I used the same approach in staff meetings as in my home with my children. We began our biweekly staff meetings by sharing the best thing that happened to each employee since the last meeting. In the past, staff meetings were usually gripe sessions, and the meetings were an opportunity for the staff to complain about the patients, the hospital, insurance companies, etc. This was changed as we tried to change the atmosphere and the attitude about staff meetings. Each staff member was asked to relate “the best thing that happened to me” in the previous 2 weeks. Staff members reported receiving a compliment or a note from a patient thanking them for outstanding care, or a collection manager reported receiving payment on a long, long-overdue account or a referral from a new physician in the community. Going around the table of 8 to 10 staff members who reported their best experience in our practice required less than 10 minutes, and this approach positively began our staff meetings.

Also, office managers and doctors run most older staff meetings with very little participation by other staff members. Using the “best thing that happened to me” approach encourages participation from all the staff, not just the senior staff or physicians.

Bottom line: Staff meetings don’t have to be a negative experience for the staff. There are usually so many good things in a medical practice; a staff meeting is a good place to share those positive events. It worked in the synagogue, in our home, and our office. This simple concept will likely work in your practice, too. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding staff meetings, please let me hear from you, doctorwhiz@gmail.com.