Avoiding Emergencies by Asking for Help

Hello! My name is Tina Del Buono, welcome to today’s One Minute Management Tip. You know, I’m not the only one out there – I know – who has had something terrible happen. Like, letting something go on my desk until it becomes an emergency and was past due. All of a sudden, all of my focus had to go on it and it caused a problem for the practice. But you know what? This doesn’t have to happen and I’m going to give you a simple little trick so that you can make sure it doesn’t happen in your practice. You know what it is? Ask for help! Yes! Ask for help. When you get behind on something and you know that a due date is coming up, let people know! “You know what, I need to get this done, can someone help me so I can have time to do it,” or, “can someone help me do it.” Now I know that sounds easier for the doctor or the office manager to say, but it might not be so easy for a staff member to ask for help.

So, a better tip is, every day when you meet for your morning huddle, say “does anyone have any problems, does anyone need any help with anything today or this week?” Help one another. And that’s one way you’re going to keep some of those terrible problems from coming up in your practice. Just say, “Help! Can you help me?”