I didn't come here to make friends

So you’re new at this, a new job, new facility? You’re going to need some friends, because you can’t do infection control alone.   You cannot wash people’s hands for them, nor scrub the hub for them.  Which is why I say I don’t really control anything. But you need them--to work with you and for you.

Know thyself

I am an introvert on one of those personality tests.  No kidding--I didn’t need a test to tell me that.  Could I please just work from home where the phone doesn’t ring?   Nope, you gotta be out there and work with PEOPLE.  Other people.  So. many. people. *sigh*

Go ahead and take a personality test.  There’s more than one kind--you’re either one of four types, or one of 16 types.  They usually get me spot on. Know who you are and what you’re style and outlook is, and recognize that other people are one of the other types, perhaps your polar opposite.   Really look at those and see that they are valid descriptions of how other people think and see the world.  Recognize them in others and know how they communicate best. They aren’t that way just to annoy you (darn perky morning people) and you cannot be effective if you don’t know who you are working with.  So learn to identify someone else’s type.

Shut up and smile

It’s tempting to bring your enormous (or slightly less than enormous) body of knowledge to dump on all these new people, but you can’t, because it’s very difficult to do politely and effectively in the beginning.  If you started calling strangers on the phone and telling them about something you read in the paper last week that they should implement in their life right now, they’ll hang up. But if you call your friend with the same story, the expectation is that you are telling them something that is either a) beneficial or interesting to them, or b) a shared interest you can both discuss.  A friend will listen.  Right?

The fastest way to turn people off is by starting every other sentence with how great things were where you used to work.   Your first month on a new job, just close your mouth.   Do a lot of listening and watching.  Ask questions (not, like, “Why would you do something like that?”).  Gather facts.  Learn the system.  Ask if a manager will give you a short tour of their department.  Ask about their concerns.  Write stuff down.  Do not spout advice unless specifically asked, and even then, delay the advice-giving until you have more information. Strangers do not want your opinion, either on the street, or at work.

Just make one friend

You need one friend in each department.  I once worked at a hospital where the facilities director did not want to be my friend.  He did not want to tell me about projects, plans, or issues. So I befriended the maintenance staff, his direct reports.  Everyone was polite and my office was on a common hallway, so some would say hello on their way by.   After some time, a gentleman stopped by and lingered for a moment.  I asked about his son, who had just gotten a new job. After a chat, he said, “you know, down in the *unnamed* department, we are doing *xyz* on the night shift, so that it looks ok for the 6am check.  But it really doesn’t work well all day. I thought you should know.”  Wow.

The understanding was that I was not supposed to know about this coverup/workaround for a system that wasn’t working, but after a period of time, I think he felt he was betraying a friend.  It was understood that I would not say where I got this new information from.  I hope his disclosure came from realizing that my job was to help patients and staff, and not to penalize or police anyone. The value of friends is immeasurable.

Learn to speak another language

To make friends in a foreign department, you need to speak their language and learn their culture.  If you are not a nurse, or not familiar with nursing at this facility, go to the orientation the newly-hired nurses go to, and be a student with them.  It might be a few days, but it’s worth your time.  See the equipment, learn the practices and policies, and meet a small group of new nurses, and the nursing educators (key allies).  Look (and be) humble and willing to learn.  Always.

If you don’t speak Environmental Services, join your local and/or national AHE chapter.  I belong to AHE: they have a ton of great (free) webinars, and I even went through a 2 month online course on ES management--staffing, contracts, flooring, and basic infection control, etc.  It was intended for new ES managers or supervisors, but I learned a lot about the challenges and decisions the industry faces.  I even went to the national conference one year in place of an infection control conference.  It was amazing.  That was 3 years ago, and I still refer to my notes from that conference.

Togetherness, and other warm fuzzy things

AHE had a nice program a while ago, intended for infection control and housekeeping departments to watch and use together.  It was presented jointly through AHE and APIC. There was also one for ICPs and the micro lab.  They are helping you build bridges, and learn about each other.  And nothing says togetherness better than sitting in a conference room watching a webinar about C.diff with an ES manager. Can you feel the love?

There are definitely days where I want to scream, “Why doesn’t everyone just do what I say?!  You hired me for infection control, but you keep trying to implement stupid no-evidence processes that won’t work. Clearly I’m not needed here.”  But I don’t say that (out loud). I consider my audience, ask for everyone’s input, accept that it might take 6 months (instead of 6 minutes) to move something forward, and save the emotional collateral that I’ve built with my new friends to use on another day.  Namaste.

Go ahead, guess my Myers-Briggs personality type: ___________