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Stepwise Success

Equitable: See Fair
November 16, 2009 7:07 AM by Scott Warner
"Scott refuses to define the word equitable ," someone once complained about me. The American Heritage dictionary defines equitable as "just and impartial," then tells us to see fair . Fair , unsurprisingly, is defined as "just to all parties; equitable." Read More...
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Ask, Don't Tell
November 11, 2009 7:15 AM by Scott Warner
As a kid I heard Talk is cheap , meaning that talking about doing something is the easy part. Boy, was that the truth! My homework and chores didn't get themselves done, no matter how much I talked about doing them or (often enough) why I hadn't. And Read More...
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Weasel Words
November 2, 2009 6:26 AM by Scott Warner
Don Watson says in his introduction to Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words, Contemporary Cliches, Cant, & Management Jargon that weasel words are bringing about the death of language. "The real disease," he writes, "is in the system: in the new models Read More...
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Plan, Don't Panic
October 28, 2009 6:27 AM by Scott Warner
The other week I watched a show on the Discovery channel in disbelief. Called Pig Bomb , it described hoards of feral pigs roaming the Southeast. Locals may have cross-bred the American boar with its ill-tempered cousin, the Eurasian wild boar, for hunting Read More...
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Valuable Work
October 5, 2009 7:16 AM by Scott Warner
When a round robin of "What's New" got to me at a recent department head meeting I said, "We're working on a new C. diff algorithm that screens for toxin-producing antigen and not just the toxin." Amid blank stares one manager laughed, " English please!" Read More...
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Competency
September 30, 2009 7:04 AM by Scott Warner
According to CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) Sec. 493.1413(b)(8) , the technical consultant is responsible for "evaluating the competency of testing personnel." There are a number of ways to do this: direct observation, review of records, Read More...
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The Box
September 16, 2009 7:28 AM by Scott Warner
Along with "Aha!" moments – those insights that punctuate hard work – you've probably heard the idea to "think outside the box." It means to think from an unconventional or different perspective, assumed to be essential in creativity. It's a cliché these Read More...
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Error is Just a Word
August 14, 2009 7:20 AM by Scott Warner
Error means to deviate, blunder, or make a mistake. Merriam Webster's Dictionary of Law has this marvelous definition: "an act that through ignorance, deficiency, or accident departs from or fails to achieve what should be done." No matter how we strive Read More...
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Work Smarter
July 13, 2009 6:24 AM by Scott Warner
As economic pressures increase you may hear a buzz about "productivity." Your manager or senior administrator may use benchmarking to compare your laboratory to others. And if you aren't working hard enough by the numbers, you'll hear that, too. Not working Read More...
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Chain of Command
July 2, 2009 7:27 AM by Scott Warner
Millennials, the youngest in our workforce, ignore the chain of command. While Boomers can't imagine work without a top-down structure, Millennials (so-called Generation Y ) reject "command" for "collaborate." I read this not with resentment but amazement Read More...
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Management Myths
June 29, 2009 6:14 AM by Scott Warner
One of the realities of my job has been working with other healthcare managers. In the last ten years, I've worked with many. At the risk of telling secrets, here are a few myths about managers: Managers are trained to do their jobs. Many managers are Read More...
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Turnaround Time
June 24, 2009 7:05 AM by Scott Warner
Suppose you want to measure turnaround time for ED specimens. This naturally raises the question What is turnaround time? According to one article in Clinical Biochemist , although clinicians complain about turnaround times being too long, most don't Read More...
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Questions and Answers
June 15, 2009 6:02 AM by Scott Warner
Your workplace may have a buddy system to bond new hires with your organization. That's great for trivial questions about the lunch menu, where to park, or who handles payroll. But what about tough questions? For example: Why do I work more weekends than Read More...
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Accountability
May 22, 2009 7:07 AM by Scott Warner
Accountability is a word I hear a lot these days, usually in the form of "That person needs to be held accountable." I think what people usually mean is "That person needs to be punished." But accountability simply means to be answerable. One who is accountable Read More...
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A Thousand Words
May 18, 2009 6:21 AM by Scott Warner
Incident reports are commonplace in healthcare, meant to record the facts. But do they? I've written about write-ups, including their presentation as conclusions and use as political bats. If you've worked in healthcare any length of time, you're well Read More...
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