By William Prentice, Chief Executive Officer, Ambulatory Surgery Center Association
In “Succession Planning for ASCs,” a recent episode of ASCA’s Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA Board Member Lisa Austin, RN, CASC, joined me to provide some fresh insights into ways that surgery centers can prepare for the inevitable leadership transitions they will experience, whether those involve key clinical staff or the ASC’s physician partners. She also talked about recent changes in the staff recruitment and retention strategies that are producing the best results these days.
One approach that Lisa says has become increasingly important is using a professional recruiting service to help identify and hire top talent. After providing some strategies for determining when that is a surgery center’s best option, she also emphasized the importance of first looking internally for future leaders. When someone appears to be a good match, she said, talk with them about their interest in an expanded role and, if they are interested, help them prepare by investing in their professional development. Even when new leadership opportunities are not available, she said, surgery centers benefit in important ways when they invest in the professional development of their staff.
Lisa’s comments got me thinking about the many valuable training programs and tools available to surgery center staff today that can help them take their skills to the next level, demonstrate their ability to tackle higher levels of responsibility and successfully take on new leadership roles. With all the workforce shortages healthcare providers across the country are facing these days, surgery centers could find some of the answers they need by turning to these resources.
Two important opportunities that come immediately to mind are the Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC) and Certified Ambulatory Infection Preventionist (CAIP) credentials. Both of these credentials are available through the Board of Ambulatory Surgery (BASC) (www.aboutcasc.org/basc), and both offer unique opportunities to surgery center staff. No one will become an expert in surgery center management by registering to take the exams candidates need to pass to earn these credentials, but those who study for the exams and pass successfully demonstrate a level of commitment and expertise that gives them an advantage over many of their peers. Even when there is no competition for an open position, these credentials help demonstrate an individual’s ability to do the job they want to be hired for.
ASCA’s still new ASC Administrator Development Program is another great opportunity for healthcare professionals interested in taking on a leadership role in a surgery center. This yearlong program offers new or aspiring surgery center administrators (mentees) an opportunity to work with an experienced surgery center administrator (mentor). Throughout the year, the mentees study content that surgery center leaders need to know, share questions and real-life experiences from their facility and explore ASC-specific resources that provide in-depth exposure to the many varied operational areas surgery center administrators manage, all with the assistance of their mentor.
ASCA Introduced this program just last year and now offers a hybrid virtual/in-person class and an entirely virtual option. ASCA is planning to recognize the first class of graduates at ASCA 2023, the association’s annual conference and expo in Louisville, Kentucky, May 17–20, 2023. Applications for the upcoming 2023–2024 virtual class will be accepted this summer. With the search for qualified surgery center administrators getting tougher all the time, one experienced manager said this program is ‘just what the surgery center community needs.’
Of course, there are many free and low-cost seminars, webinars and digital resources available for surgery center staff interested in pursuing additional education. For example, ASCA partners with HealthStream to offer an online training series that features 25 courses that cover current regulations and standards of care that apply specifically to ASCs. Nineteen of those provide CE credits.
The all-access pass to ASCA’s annual webinar series is also popular. For one price, surgery centers can have multiple members of their team attend all the programs in the yearlong series. The webinars are available to watch live or on demand, and most of the programs offer CE credit. The series covers topics like how to avoid business office mistakes, ways to improve your medical records and what to do to prevent a data breach. On-demand access is available after the live events.
ASCA’s annual conferences and expos, which have historically offered the largest collection of ASC-specific products and services available in one place, also remain popular. These events offer an outstanding opportunity to network with others in the ASC community while learning the latest about new developments in surgery center management and the new regulatory requirements ASCs need to meet each year. I hope to see you at ASCA 2023 in Louisville this May. This is a new location for us, and in addition to the educational agenda we have planned, we are looking forward to exploring the city and visiting the Kentucky Derby Museum during our Friday night social event.
ASCA’s Clinical & Operational Benchmarking Survey is another important tool that offers both ASC managers and ASC staff who are interested in taking on additional leadership responsibilities an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the quality of care their ASC provides. ASC staff who manage the data submission, analyze the results and apply what they learn can drive lasting improvements in their center and spearhead the revisions in their practices and policies needed to ensure their facility remains on top. The ASC accrediting bodies and the ASC Quality Collaboration also make tools available that surgery center administrators can use to improve their facilities.
Along with all the professional development opportunities I already mentioned, ASCA is working now on some new educational programs that we hope will better accommodate today’s fast-paced work environment and the surgery center community’s need for leaders who come to their positions with a multi-dimensional skill set. Stay tuned for more news about those programs as it becomes available.
Listen Free to ASCA’s Advancing Surgical Care Podcast
If you aren’t already listening to ASCA’s Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, I encourage you to start. You can access this program through ASCA’s website or many of the most popular podcast hosting sites, including Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and Amazon Music.
Introduced in 2020, this podcast now includes more than 30 publicly available episodes and 13 episodes that contain content produced exclusively for ASCA members. We typically release two or more new episodes each month, and each program looks at a topic of special interest to those who own, manage or work in or with surgery centers. Our guests are members of the healthcare community who specialize in surgery center management, researchers and analysts who explore the most important trends in outpatient surgery, health policy experts and others who work at the local and national levels to improve our nation’s healthcare system.
