My Development

The 5 days in Washington D.C. consisted of leadership lectures, a visit to Capitol Hill, a question and answer session with a healthcare lobbyist, and a panel discussion with alumni from the MHA program.

The sessions that impacted me the most from this im

mersion were the lectures given by Dr. Larry Mullins and Dr. Melissa Goldstein. Dr. Larry Mullins is the CEO/President of Samaritan Health Services in Corvallis, OR which is not far from my home in Portland, OR. Some of the examples he gave included Oregon laws and regulations which are applicable to my work at Providence Health & Services. Also, his teaching style incorporated experiences that he has had over his career was effective in my remembering the material we covered. My favorite lecture was about the project that his health system underwent to revitalize the town of Lebanon, OR. Throughout the presentation I wondered if such a plan would be successful in the small towns in Kansas (where I am from).

Dr. Melissa Goldstein came and delivered a lively lecture on ethics in healthcare. Many of the situations we discussed were moving and relevant to the environments in which we work. I appreciated her clear definitions of theories and the way she guided us through this difficult material. Generally, it was good practice for listening and considering my classmates' approaches to problems.

Overall, I learned a lot from the leactures and conversing with my fellow students' and faculty. The most applicable information that I will be able to use in my current position was the ethical lectures including corporate compliance.

Leadership Practice Examples

Since I attended Immersion 1 last fall, I have had shown initiative and leadership in the following ways as a Laboratory Quality Coordinator for Providence Health and Services.

Continuing Education

I have developed and continue to maintain a sharepoint webpage (internal website) that has lists of continuing education opportunities. Within the laboratory, there are regulations for licensure that require continuing education credits. Furthermore, there is an expectation that caregivers of the Oregon Regional Laboratory for Providence Health and Services will participate in at least 5 hours of continuing education a year. There are many free and for-payment continuing education resources online and in-person, but not everyone knew about these opportunities. That is when I decided to make a single webpage compiling all of the opportunites available. This page includes a list of professional societies associated with laboratory careers, websites offering online continuing education, and announcements with a calendar for live webinars and in-person lectures. This site is maintained by myself and has gone on to include a monthly e-mail to all laboratory staff informing them of the upcoming in-person learning opportunities and webinars for the month. 

Internal Audits

The internal audit system utilized in the Oregon Regional Laboratory was a large and unwieldy tool that had not been updated in a few years. I volunteered to take on the system and revamp it using survey techniques used by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Joint Commission (TJC). This project required crosswalk of CAP and TJC standards and procedure writing. Rather than using a point system, I moved to have it based simply by deficiency, like an inspection. Activities were built into the internal audit to ensure the laboratories maintained up-to-date personnel rosters, equipment inventory, and activity menus. Also, a tracer was developed to follow a laboratory event and allow for more interaction with caregivers at the bench so that they may be less nervous when an accreditation inspector arrives. This system is in its first year of implementation and there is room for improvement, however auditors have had a favorable response to the new tool.

Project Management: MediaLab

I volunteered to lead the implementation of MediaLab, a laboratory management tool, across the Oregon Regional Laboratory over the course of 6 months. This project has required consultation with Providence's Information Technology team to develop a backup system to ensure our information is preserved. I consulted with the Integrity and Compliance team to ensure that the information we were uploading was compliant with laws and organizational requirements. Other skills that were developed were: creation and action on deadlines, writing procedures and policies, marketing the system to caregivers, performing live demonstrations for laboratory leaders, and reporting regularly on the project's status and system utilization. This project is currently underway with a final implementation deadline of January 1, 2018.

Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQI)

The EQ-i 2.0 model was used to assess my emotional well-being according to 16 elements. These elements are described in the document attached below as I will only address the key elements in my personal assessment. 

I scored highest in the self-perception composite and decision-making composite. Specifically, my self-actualization score in the self-perception composite was my highest overall. This indicates that I have an effective method of pursuing meaning in my work and self-improvement. This is unsurprising to me since I regularly volunteer for new projects in my job and set many goals for myself (including graduation from this program).

My second-highest score was for impulse control. I think that I utilize this the most when communicating with others. Especially while e-mailing, I try to keep a personable professional tone in communication which I think helps me to maintain, even with difficult personalities, productive working relationships.

When I took the Meyers-Briggs Personality test, during Immersion 1, I was an ENTJ. At first I was unsure that this was my true type because I thought that INFP was more descriptive of my personality. Since, that first immersion, I have come to accept ENTJ as my true type because I am more often exhibiting those traits in both my professional and personal life. With this in mind, I think that my EQ-i score is complimentary to my personality type because self-actualization and reality testing (of which I had an average score) are important for being an effective visionary leader. 

Opportunities for Leadership Growth

Overall, my EQ-i scores left much room for improvement, especially in the self-expression and interpersonal composites. To improve my leadership skills, I need to work on interpersonal relationships and empathy including conflict resolution. This is a particularly difficult area for me. I do not handle conflict, especially with colleagues, as well as I should. Opportunities for developing this skill present themselves regularly in my work, so I will be able to practice more effective ways of diffusing situations and moving past conflicts. This would involve working on another element of which I am weak, which is problem solving. I think that if I can improve these elements in my work and behavior, then I will be a better, more effective leader, for my organization.

Please see the attached document for full EQi results.

Hannah_Hohendorf_EQi.pdf