Plans shape up for roll out of new Standards of Professional Behavior

At the annual Patient Experience Conference last October, the YNHHS Patient Experience Council introduced Yale New Haven Health's new single set of Standards of Professional Behavior. The council consolidated and standardized the previous sets of behaviors used at each delivery network, aligning them with the system values and reflecting cultural diversity.

The training process for the new standards is under way. Nearly 1,500 managers across the system will be gradually training employees and rolling training out to physicians in their areas between April and September.

"Our behaviors must reflect our values and bind us together as a health system," said Michael Bennick, MD, chairman of the YNHHS Patient Experience Council. "These behaviors are not new, nor are they complicated, but they must guide us in how we treat our patients and one another. We are emphasizing ownership and consistency in every encounter."

An added element of accountability will come in October, when the performance management process incorporates the Standards of Professional Behavior into employee performance reviews, with modifications to the core "success factors" – team player, communicator, open-minded/flexible, problem-solver, helpful, friendly and personally effective and accountable.

"These standards represent the way we all want to behave, work and live. When we sincerely embrace them, we can breathe life into our values," said Dr. Bennick.