Guest post: New year, new CDI intention(s)

by Barbara A. Anderson, RN, MSM, CCDS

The new year, and especially a new decade, provides a chance to refresh and renew. This time of year stimulates renewed hope and related action. We seem called to set out a plan of action and reach for and achieve an improved self and a re-invented, revitalized work environment. We’ve used New Year’s resolutions for years to personally set good intentions, but these goals for ourselves often dwindle and fade away a few months into the year.

You’ve probably heard of one-word resolutions/words of intention that are said to be a better tool for focus and motivation. You might use words such as “self-care,” “adventure,” “learning,” or “health” as your personal intention. You take baby steps through the year until at the end you see tangible ways you’ve addressed that simple goal for yourself. You put this theme up everywhere you can see it—on mirrors, in your car, on your computer. The keys to succeeding are:

1. Set a one-word intention
2. Keep it simple
3. Continually raise awareness
4. Take related actions
5. Congratulate yourself throughout the year for baby steps that are having lasting impacts.

With this plan in place, you can keep the intention alive and achieve better long-term outcomes.

In my opinion, we can use the same formula for making improvements to our CDI programs. We can simplify our intentions and still accomplish quite a lot in a year’s time.

For example, our one-word focus could be “queries.” There are many ways to make improvements, from format, to compliance, to templates, to how the query is functional in the EHR, etc.

Or perhaps we would choose “policies” and focus on the three or four policies and procedures that need revamping, including an educational roll-out once the new processes are completed. It might entail more complexity by including research around best practice and regulatory guidelines, but it’s still all summed up in a single word.

Our possible options could go on and on, but here are a few options to stimulate discussion with your teams.

A one-word intention can be the vehicle for simplifying our vision and charting a motivating course towards improvement. It can help us rally our teams to work steadily towards the finish line, without pomp, circumstance, and complexity. The keys for applying this simple method to CDI programs are similar to personal intentions:

1. Set a one-word intention
2. Keep it simple
3. Continually raise awareness by posting the word in places that will often and quickly provide a visual reminder
4. Take actions that will move that intention
5. Congratulate yourself and the team throughout the year for gradual steps taken that are making a positive difference in outcomes for the CDI program and the facility/system

If you and your team are ambitious, start with two to four intentions that are of the most important to the CDI program. Remember, however, if you have a long list of intentions, your focus will get watered down and it’s harder to make progress. It doesn’t mean that you won’t be working on the other initiatives that are required of you through the year or that some other intention will never crop up. The one-word intention is simply a good place to start and added focus to this one intention will bring about bigger change than if you picked no focus at all.

Editor’s note: Anderson is an RN by background, having worked in various roles and settings. She has worked in performance improvement consulting for more than eight years, specializing in CDI, and currently is a manager at Huron Consulting Group. She also holds certifications in professional coaching and in Emotional Intelligence.  Contact her at baanderson@huronconsultinggroup.com. Opinions expressed are that of the author and do not necessarily represent HCPro, ACDIS, or any of its subsidiaries.