Inside Nationwide Children’s Exclusive

“This past year as culture coaches, we have been focused on promoting positive attitudes in our department. One activity that we started last year was a monthly field day. We set up games on the front lawn of the hospital during lunch, and encourage, not only our department, but anyone one who happens to be walking by to join us for some lawn games!

Another goal of ours has been encouraging more positive interdepartmental interactions. Last Halloween, a few of us dressed up and went ‘reverse trick-or-treating.’ We made up bags of candy and went to all the floors and left them treats! Doing fun activities like this have, not only improved morale, but also we get face to face time with our colleagues all over the hospital!”

-Melissa and Nancy, Neurodiagnostics 

“To me, One Team Culture means we help each other out and all strive for the same goal. It means we are kind to each other and lift each other up. We do extra when others are struggling and when we are struggling, others do extra to help support us. We feel supported by others and we support others.

Ways we have shown One Team Culture:

• Snack sharing responsibilities at team meetings
• Transfer sessions and consultations of 5 Ps for clients who switch to another school from ours (clinician consultations and warm hand offs)
• Use of Champions (MI, Family Therapy, Autism) for specialty information sharing and consultation
• Outside of work co-worker hang outs
• Current clinicians bringing in new therapist referrals for new employees to join our team”

-Emily Schrader, LSW, School Based Behavioral Health

“The NICU Clinical Therapy Team consists of 26 OTs, PTs, Speech Therapists, Massage Therapists, Music Therapy and Child Life, and we are committed to embracing One Team Culture!

• Our team not only promotes health and well-being within our therapy team, but we also recognize the importance of engaging with the larger team of caregivers and providers in the NICU including but not limited to the RTs, nurses, physicians, PCAs and unit clerks. We attend strategic partnership meetings, we work to recognize not only their professional achievements but also celebrate personal milestones such as retirements, births and weddings, and provide support and acknowledgement during times of bereavement.
• We are committed to doing the right thing and encourage team involvement in Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. We have participated in multiple community outreach opportunities together, attended Diversity and Inclusion educational opportunities, and have the opportunity to discuss D and I topics in staff meetings to continually promote kindness, empathy and inclusion in all interactions.
• We are agile and innovative and get results by participating in weekly huddles so that every team member is able to identify areas of need, request support from others, and discuss optimal strategies so that we can provide the best level of care to all of our patients and families through staffing and census changes.
• We prioritize quality and safety by creating a safe off-stage environment so that team members can reflect and process daily events and seek input and feedback from others. We also meet individually with our manager at least once/monthly to receive mentorship on mindful self-awareness so that we can continue to be present and provide strong critical thinking skills with our patients, families and colleagues.

Lastly, we truly enjoy working with one another and navigating challenges together. Our team tries to keep ‘play’ and humor as part of our off-stage interactions as a means of maintaining camaraderie.”

-Melissa Hanin, Occupational Therapist