Neil Pithadia, associate director, TTP-Pediatrics, submitted the winning article about putting patients first in our ongoing series of articles about our SPIRIT values.

As consumerism in health care becomes more transparent, the patient’s experience will become even more scrutinized. Status-quo thinking on service excellence will go the way of the dinosaur. This will require a shift in the way we approach our patients—we must put them first and work to make their experiences as pleasant as possible.

At Texas Tech Physicians, we are a progressive team where our diverse talents are our strength. We are implementing technology to build efficiency and transform the culture of our work, yet it is important for us to realize that we must drive an environment that is engaging and fun for our customers.

So I propose to you, let’s drive fun in our work environment.

Picture this, working in a Seattle-based fishery as a fishmonger. The smell, the intense lifting of fish day in and day out transporting it to the markets and then selling it to consumers that are likely repulsed by the aromaticity of the environment.  Now think about the seasonal variation because of the nature the business.

Sounds pretty miserable, right? I mean how can you drive an environment that is fun let alone engaging for customers and employees? They do it by putting customers first in all they do, and we can do the same by putting our patients first.

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt8bQ8QeyhE

What do you think? Here’s a little secret.  This market has been studied by Fortune 500 companies and is now implemented in organizations as the FISH! Philosophy.  I am convinced if a fishmonger in Seattle can have that much fun, we, too, can do the same in our interactions with patients. I’m curious to hear your thoughts (neil.pithadia@ttuhsc.edu).

Neil received an autographed copy of Dr. Berk’s book “Anatomy of a Kidnapping.” Submit your articles about integrity to brent.magers@ttuhsc.edu by 5 p.m. Friday for inclusion in next week’s contest.