How to Train Your Healthcare Staff on Effective Administrative Office Procedures

As a future healthcare administrator, one of your most important duties will be ensuring your staff operates effectively, particularly regarding administrative office procedures. From patient record maintenance to scheduling system monitoring, good administration is the central pillar of an efficient healthcare facility.

Being familiar with how to train your staff on procedures improves everyday operations and increases patient care and organizational performance. This article will discuss actionable ways to train your staff and create a high-performing administrative office.

1. Begin with Clear Rules and Objectives

All well-managed offices begin with well-defined rules and objectives. Before you train your employees, consider what must be done daily. What are the top priorities? What type of behavior do you desire?

For instance, you may wish to establish regulations such as:

• “Answer all phone calls immediately during work hours.”
• “Keep all patient information private.”
• “Greet everyone with a smile when they walk in.”

Keep your rules concise and clear. This will make it clear what your staff should do and act upon. If staff understand what’s expected of them, they’ll be less likely to make errors.

2. Use a Step-by-Step Approach to Teach Procedures

Your healthcare staff should be trained on what they do and why they do it. Step-by-step, hands-on instruction guarantees they understand and will remember the skills they’re learning. Begin by demonstrating the task as you explain each step and its reasoning. This provides context and allows employees to see the big picture.

After you demonstrate it for them, they perform it as you watch, provide feedback, answer their questions, and make them repeat the task until they’re at ease and confident. This works for anything from patient intake to working with healthcare software.

3. Make It Easy to Ask Questions

Some new employees will be shy or reluctant to ask questions. However, in medicine, asking questions prevents errors. Always state during orientation:  “If you’re unsure, ask me. It’s better to ask than to guess.” Develop a safe and respectful learning environment in which everyone is reminded that learning takes time and nobody has it perfect on day one.

4. Utilize Checklists and Guides

Even when staff have received adequate training, crucial small steps can be easily forgotten, particularly during a busy shift. That’s when written guides and checklists become valuable resources. They act as memory cues, assist in consistency, and organize daily procedures.

For instance, you can develop a checklist for answering calls, processing patient forms, or practicing safety and cleanup procedures. Position these resources in clearly visible and accessible areas throughout the office space. If a step has been neglected, staff can look at the checklist rather than take a guess, preventing errors and keeping things on track.

5. Encourage Ongoing Learning and Team Growth

The training doesn’t end in the initial week. The best health offices continue improving and learning with time. You may do so by:

• Conducting short weekly team meetings
• Requesting feedback from staff
• Discussing what is working and what is not
• Providing bite-sized reminders of important tasks

Let your staff members know you’re always available to support them. Involving everyone in the education process creates a healthy office environment, and patients will recognize the difference.

Related Blog: 5 Tips for Better Healthcare Administration

Why This Matters in Healthcare Administration

As a Healthcare Administrator, you’re responsible for running the office smoothly so that medical professionals can focus on what requires their skills most. This requires carefully hiring, training, and creating a cohesive working group.

When your employees understand that it’s easy to follow simple steps and be kind to patients, everyone in the office feels happier. Your clinic becomes more trustworthy with people. Issues are resolved quickly, and work becomes less stressful for everyone.

At Northwest Career College, you will acquire the practical leadership and communication skills to manage a workforce and conduct office management confidently.

Become a Competent Healthcare Leader in Just 9 Months

Ready to join a company where your decisions determine the delivery of care? At Northwest Career College, you can:

• Earn your degree in only 9 months
• Receive financial assistance if you are eligible
• Work in hospitals, clinics, or offices of healthcare
• Learn to train and manage a healthcare team

You’ll receive hands-on experience, Work with actual professionals, and acquire the skills to improve healthcare, from the front office to the back office. Enroll Today in our Healthcare Administration Program and begin your path toward a career in health administration!