Last month, we discussed professional stress, the kind that comes from hiring, firing, meeting deadlines, finding large, and even small, discrepancies in accounts receivable — let alone tension that can result when patient expectations, regardless of your efforts, aren’t met.

This month, let’s compound professional pressures with the personal kind. My definition of stress? Having to juggle too many priorities within a given time slot. My excellent administrative assistant, Cait, does her best to keep those priorities equidistant, but there are times, as when my daughter got married, that establishing rules is necessary to keep all those disparate but very important number-one priorities from colliding like bumping cars.

MANAGING STRESSED STAFF

It’s not difficult to recognize when a staff member is dealing with a full plate. She is harried when she arrives for work; her attention to detail is off and she appears distracted. It is times like these that mid-level managers, who should have excellent rapport with their staff, need to intervene. Situations involving personal difficulties may mean that a staff member will get some temporary “favored” treatment — like permission to come in late, come in early, or work long days to have one day a week off. Unless all employees know what is going on, they may arrive at incorrect conclusions, which add further drama to the existing stress. Therefore, staff must receive clear communication from their mid-level managers: This is key.

SELF-MANAGEMENT

Physicians are not exempt from experiencing personal stress. I believe we have to put on a mask; we can’t appear harried or gloomy before our patients. Sharing too many details with patients about a dying parent, for example, may not be perceived as professional. While it might be impossible to be cheery under those circumstances, it may be okay to say that you are dealing with a stressful situation with an elderly parent and leave it at that. Our patients aren’t paying us to hear our problems.

We had a staff member who repeatedly spoke to patients about her complex and stressful home situation. When we heard about this from patients, we suggested that she discuss her problems with colleagues at lunch instead of with her patients.

WEDDING STRESS

When my daughter got married last year, I made a pact with myself that I would not deal with any plans during business hours. I left my cellphone in my purse, turned it off, and didn’t turn it back on until after I was through seeing patients. I told the wedding vendors I could not get back to any of them until after 5. Would that be all right? If they couldn’t work within that framework, I didn’t do business with them.

Staff is expected to follow suit. Our cellphone policy is to turn off the phone; it can be used during lunch and breaks, but not for personal reasons during work hours. We also look at the policy this way: it might put off hearing about a stressful situation, at least for a little while. OM

Cynthia Matossian MD, FACS is the founder of Matossian Eye Associates. Her e-mail is cmatossian@matossianeye.com