Shock & Awe - Client Advice Post

Once upon a time, when I was a medical center executive, it was my night on call. Usually the administrator on call means nothing. No reason to do anything outside have a usually lovely evening with my family. One night sticks painfully in my memory. I was the administrator on call. The phone rang at 3:40 am. I woke and took the call. It was from the top night nursing representative. She said, "I've never had to do this before, but I'm calling the administrative representative on call - our air ambulance has dropped from radar. They can't be raised by radio. I don't know what to do."

I'm not always the calmest in a storm, but in this situation I think that I was still partially asleep and my brain wasn't ticking yet. "Thanks for the call. I will contact other administrative representatives and the hospital CEO. We will be in immediately and help you take it from here."

I arrived at work that morning at 5:30 and the rest of the day was a blur as we all tried to cope with the anguish of losing a team of paramedics; the pilot who was exceptional; and the patient. As the day drew on the details became clear. They were trying to transport a heart patient out of one of the smaller regional communities to our facility. There was a wicked snow storm happening and apparently ice took control of the wings during the flight. The plane was finally found. There were no survivors.

What does that story have to do with hiring in healthcare? It reminds us of our humanity. It teaches us that some days when a candidate shows up for a panel interview and bombs it, that perhaps there was some personal "bomb" happening in their lives - or in the lives of the people on the panel. As healthcare executives, we deal with the precariousness of life on a daily basis. We don't often pause to shift the focus of our schedules when things get really tough - perhaps we should.

Next time you have an interview and the candidate seems off, or if you've "had one of those days" perhaps the best thing to do is to be direct about your stresses and how they might be taking a toll on your ability to be an exceptional interviewer. It might be a greater and tougher day than most. Food for thought.

Happy and healthy hiring.

Lynden