Collect What You Produce: The Psychology of Money Part 3

To Create A Healthy Work Environment many components are imperative, one of which is financial health.  When the finances of a practice are healthy—bills can be paid, investments can be made in continuing education, equipment and facility can be upgraded, team members can be well compensated—and so can the doctor.

Practices that are financially healthy are more often than not—a happier environment in which to work.  On the other hand, practices that are constantly under financial constraints are—usually– in a state of distress.  The definition of “distress” is “unpleasant feelings or emotions that impact your level of functioning—sadness, anxiety, distraction.”   Distress, when left unbridled, can harm the interpersonal relationships of people on the team.  It can negatively affect interactions with patients.  It can impact treatment planning—and, thus, every system down the line.  When one system begins to falter, there is a domino effect—all other systems begin to falter, as well.  (Jameson, 2016)

And you may already know this—but when a person is stressed-out (or in a state of “distress” at work—they often take that home with them and that “distress” has a negative impact on the home environment and the people there.  Not good.

Answer:  identify the stressors.  A “stressor” is something that causes stress.  Once you have identified that “stressor”, begin to plan how you will deal with it, resolve it, overcome it, eliminate it.  And, take action to do so.

For this blog series, I am going to focus on stressors related to money.  We will look at areas that often cause stress in a practice and ways to resolve or handle those stressors.   Goal:  to have a healthy, happy life—and to have a healthy happy practice—one that is productive, profitable and one that has stress well under control!!  Sound good?