For many practices, position descriptions (PDs) are like forgotten instruction manuals. They are created, filed, and rarely looked at again until a new hire is needed or a compliance audit arises. The problem is, when they are treated as “shelfware,” you miss out on one of the simplest tools for accountability, staff development, and practice stability.
In the business world, forward-thinking companies treat job descriptions as core tools—instruments that drive performance, accountability, and employee engagement. The difference in use is striking, and it highlights an opportunity for practices that want to improve employee retention and increase operational efficiency.
In our consulting work, the importance and utility of PDs arise often. Practices are thrown into a reactive mode when they lose a longtime employee who resigns with 2 weeks’ notice—suddenly, everyone realizes just how much responsibility that employee had been carrying. The practice pulls out an old copy of the vague PD that doesn’t come close to describing what the role had actually become. It can be surprising, at a time when you want to swiftly recruit, to see that your practice organizational structure needs refreshing.
Here are 7 steps for turning PDs into something more than dusty paperwork. Together, they work as a living tool you can actually use to strengthen your practice.
Seven Action Steps
1. Audit the Role for Accuracy
A PD should describe the real job, not the idealized version or one from 5 years ago. Roles evolve. A technician who once only assisted in exams may now be handling diagnostic testing and assisting in your ASC. A receptionist might have absorbed the job of insurance verification because it was convenient at the time. These gradual additions create fragile structures that collapse when a staff member leaves. Co-creating PDs with the manager and outgoing employee—rather than imposing them from on high—ensures accuracy, increases buy-in, and encourages employees to take ownership of their responsibilities.
Quick check: Would the role as written be realistic for a brand-new hire today? If not, revise.
2. Test the Workload
Some positions quietly expand to the point where no one person can succeed. When you review a PD, ask yourself if the workload is reasonable for an average, trained employee. If the job only worked because your last hire was a superstar, you may be setting the next person up for failure.
Quick check: If your strongest employee in that role left tomorrow, could a reasonable replacement handle the scope as described?
3. Use PDs to Educate Physicians and Owners
Associates and owners often underestimate what non-clinical roles involve. Sharing updated PDs can reframe their understanding and support better decision-making. For example, when physicians see in writing how much time a surgical coordinator reasonably needs to properly counsel patients and wrangle insurance approvals, it’s easier to justify investments in support staff or retention strategies.
Quick check: If one of your current PDs was reviewed at random today by a physician owner, would they clearly understand and agree with it…or would they be surprised by what they read?
4. Clarify Boundaries Between Departments
A vague PD can create misunderstandings and launch staff turf wars. When introducing a new role, be clear about responsibilities. Share it across all departments to ensure everyone understands where the responsibilities start and stop. If it is a similar role to someone who has left the practice, clarify the differences and who is now responsible for tasks that are not included in this new position…and why.
Quick check: If a staffer in your office works in 2 departments, have their 2 departmental
supervisors read the PD and come to an agreement on how it fits into each team’s workflow—including which person supervises which tasks.
5. Communicate Clearly With Candidates
A position description isn’t just for the employer and worker; it’s also for the applicant. Too often, hiring conversations focus on personality fit or previous experience in a “similar” position, while the specifics of the role remain fuzzy. That’s how mismatched expectations arise. A transparent PD lets candidates self-assess and prevents the “This isn’t what I signed up for!” problem from arising.
Quick check: Based on what you have written in your typical PD, would the average job applicant be able to read it and decide, “Yes, that’s the kind of work I want to do every day?”
6. Build Accountability Into the Document
A PD should specify not just what gets done, but how success is measured. Saying “handles patient follow-up” is vague. Saying “contacts every no-show patient within 2 hours” creates an expectation that can be tracked. Without measurable standards, accountability slips.
Quick check: Do the most important responsibilities written in your PDs have clear outcomes and time standards attached to them?
7. Review and Refresh Regularly
The biggest mistake is treating PDs as permanent. Roles shift with technology, patient volumes, regulations, and staff turnover. Make PD reviews part of your routine—every 6 months or annually, at the very least. Tie them to exit interview information, performance reviews, or cross-training initiatives. Every time you revisit a PD, you sharpen it into a better management tool.
Quick check: When was the last time you looked at general staff PDs? The managing partner’s PD? Your own PD?
Conclusion
Strong leaders pay attention to what others overlook. PDs may not be glamorous, but they are foundational. They align administrators, physicians, managers, staff, and applicants around the same set of expectations. They reveal vulnerabilities before they become crises. And they give practices the structure to grow and adapt with confidence.
So, the next time a PD crosses your desk, don’t dismiss it as routine paperwork. Review it as an opportunity to improve the practice. Treat it like the checklist it really is—a safeguard, a communication tool, and one of the simplest ways to keep your practice strong. OM
