Should old acquaintance be forgot...

That's an awesome quote Meredith. Day to day nothing changes, but pretty soon everything is different. I like that. Well my family has a lot of traditions. My cousins come over every Christams Eve and we have a gingerbread house decorating contest, to which I am and always will be the champion. Its an art form really. Then for Christmas Eve dinner, we have wings. To tell you the truth I cant remember when or why it started but thats just what we do. After dinner we build a fire and watch A Christmas Story on TBS. I cant begin to explain how amazing the movie is and I will challlenge anyone who thinks they know more about that movie then me. Then we leave cookies out for Santa and open gifts the next morning then go to my Grandma's for dinner. Christmas this year was awesome. Got to see all my family and got a few cool gifts. As far as New Years resolutions go, Ive never been one to make a definite goal and stick to it but usually there broad. This year though its gonna be to continue to get to the gym or work out in my apartment everyday. I have way to much time on my hands at home to not work out everyday. It sucks cause the DAC has been closed this whole week so i havent played any basketball, which I dont like. Ive been pretty good though as far as exercise goes these past couple weeks. So I hope everyone had a wonderful 2009 and I wish you more and better in 2010. Have a safe and happy New Years Eve and ill see you next year. Oh and im spending the first week of Jan. in Canada with high school friends which Im really excited for. Peace

resolutions?

I'm not big on NY resolutions. Professionally... my resolution is to teach myself web design in the next year. Personally... since I know I will never last a year following a resolution I'll just say to complete the painting I am working on. That gives me more than enough time to finish!

Hope everyone has a happy new year and that the Flyers win the Winter Classic!

Christmas/New year Resolution

What did I do for Christmas

I went to New York city. Stayed at this hotel which was right by Time square. I went with my best friend and we walked around, saw the tree and went to upper east new york and went to the Bodies exhibition which was awesome! It was raining and kinda freezing but it was an amazing weekend.

What is my new year's resolution?
I am not too big on new years resolutions. But I try and make at least one every year. So for this year, my resolution is to stay self-driven and motivated. Also, this might sound weird but I am going to make sureI pray every night and thank god because I think its extremely important to appreciate what you have. And I'm gonna make sur eI pray every night before I go to bed.

A Brand New Decade

1.) What did I do for Christmas?
This year was pretty monumental…it was my first Christmas ever! I went home with the bf to his Grandparents house in upstate NY. I even got a stocking and a bunch of presents! Along with the Christmas celebrations, I went snowboarding for the first time…epic fail. I probably won’t be getting back on a board any time in the near future. But, it was fun none the less! We also played Catch Phrase which is now my new favorite game. I recommend it to everyone. So overall, I’d say this was a very successful first Christmas!



2.) What are my resolutions, personally as well as professionally?
Along with Meredith, I also have been thinking of the past decade and what I was doing 10 years ago. Well, I was probably listening to the Backstreet Boys Millennium album and wishing Nick Carter was my boyfriend. Oh how times have changed.

I was never one to make serious resolutions and actually stick to them after January. But, this year it’s different. One of my biggest New Years’ resolutions is to train for the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship in April. We have a strict training schedule starting on January 4th and it doesn’t end until April 17th (race day). So, I basically have to stick to this resolution/training regimen to do well in the race. Other than that resolution, I just want to basically concentrate on living life to the fullest and gaining as many life experiences as possible. I watched the movie 21 last night…so my mind is full of awesome life experiences. I’m thinking about starting a life counting cards in Vegas and winning hundreds of thousands of dollars. I guess that can be considered a professional resolution?

I hope everyone has a fantastic New Years and 2010!

Happy 2010

Wow, I just realized that it has been an entire decade since the rumors, fear and hoping that the year 2000 would even occur. I was 12 years old at the time, in 6th grade with a weird obsession for Tommy Hilfiger. (I'm not going to lie, I had sneakers, a backpack, the clothes, perfume, even screen name...) I was living in Florida and wore my hair in a pony tail slicked back with gel every day. I was the "new girl" that every 12 year old boy wanted to get to know better.

Now, here I am, countless houses later, 22 years old, finishing up my 4th year of college, ready to move on with my life. It's weird; day by day, nothing changes but pretty soon, everything is different.

So, 2010, the big, scary, new year. What are your resolutions, personally as well as professionally? (And if you don't believe in making new years' resolutions, might as well start now).

Family Traditions ...

Every year my family gets together on Christmas Eve for some good ole Polish food (pirogues, etc), presents and funny stories. One of the best present’s I received was my Aunt and Uncle flying in from Louisiana to celebrate Christmas with us this year. I am so glad my Aunt got to see some snow on the ground. On Christmas day I exchanged gifts with Aaron and then we went over his sister’s house for dinner, presents and fun! Needless to say, I love family time around the holidays!

Another very special moment for me this holiday weekend was having my first family party at our new house. We had hors d'oeuvres, drinks and played Wii! All in all I had a great holiday weekend full of family time and fun, minus the days I worked at BBW … lol. Hope everyone had a Happy Christmahaunakwanza!

Happy Holidays everyone!

I'm currently waiting for my sister to come pick me up (I can't walk in the snow/ice with the boots I'm wearing...almost slipped everytime I was on the ice this morning) then we will be heading home to my parents house for dinner tonight. Tomorrow we're going to my aunt&uncle's for Christmas day... tonight and tomorrow are both with my mom's side of the family... Sunday is the annual Findley Christmas get together... where everyone will be eating/drinking/watching football. That's about it for my Christmas plans. Hope everyone has a great holiday/weekend! And I hope my sister gets here SOON.

Let it snow

Well while I was off in the Poconos for a long weekend, Philly got drenched in 23 inches of snow. Sucks for you guys. I slipped and fell on ice on the way to work this morning, so I guess it sucks for me too.

Anyway, this week is a short week and a lot of us won't be here. So what are everyone's holiday plans?!

I'll be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family and then I'll be spending Christmas afternoon with Chris's family for the first time in 4 years. It's about time, huh?

Enjoy your holidays :)

What if SHM was located in New York?

I couldn't be more creative. If SHM was in a different city, we def. wouldn't have eagles and phillies fans. And it wouldn't be as cool since it would have interns from probably NYU and not Drexel. There will be more Yankees which will be not acceptable! haha

On a serious note, SHM would still be the same company because we have internationally located members as well as Board members running this society are from all over America. The staff would definitely not be the same but SHM mantra would still prevail. SHM would still be making a difference in health care system and improving health quality.

What if...

As my contribution this week, I've left comments for everyone who posted on the Southwest topic...take a look and let me know what you think?

What if..

What if SHM was still located in the old office? I don't know if we'd all even fit in there anymore.. it's amazing to see the growth that has happened in the past 2 years alone (the time I've been here to witness it). I was thinking about this the other day when I passed the old building and when I heard last week was a year since the relocation!

go big or go home.

Well this can be answered in many ways, so I decided to be optimistic and answer big.

What if...someone donated $100,000 to SHM?

First off, great job Ken! This would be a HUGE donation and everyone would be super excited. I think this money would help us reach our goals more easily and effectively. It would help out all departments, and provide so many resources in the M&M department alone. We could splurge on bigger ad campaigns and more towards the rebranding project. This would be really awesome if it actually happened, so let’s stay positive…it could happen!

First let me apologize for being tardy to the party.
Sorry Meredith :) But here I am!

And because Meredith loves me I'm going to answer last weeks questions about goals. I'm with you Meredith when it comes to making goals. I don't plan too far ahead because I'm not the type. My friends plan everything from what they are wearing this weekend to what retirement home they will be living in. Not me! I'm going to roll with the punches. Life is a funny thing and I always think that if you plan every step of your life you limit your possibilities.

As for me my goals are:

Work for a non-profit that helps children and women (in this country and others)
Travel
Get married and have kids
Not live in NJ (property taxes are killing me)

That's about it.

Later Gators,
Celisse

Expect the Unexpected

This is straight from the book Kari is reading, Nuts!

"Instead of counting on the Luck of the Irish or doing conventional strategic planning, Southwest prepares for the future by practicing the art of "What if...?" Future scenario generation is the technical name of the process Southwest Airlines is using to prepare itself for the twenty-first century. The company's executive planning committee meets periodically to create future scenarios in which the airline could find itself. These sessions include a lot of "What if...?" questions designed to get the group thinking about all the possible situations Southwest could face."


So, fill in the blank everyone.

"What if SHM...?"

What to do...What to do...

Katie - Your post completely resonates with me. Its funny to look back at 5 year increments and see how DRASTICALLY life goals change. With my birthday coming up on Friday, a reoccurring conversation these past few weeks has been "Wow....If you asked me what I thought I'd be doing at age 28 about 10 years ago I would have said married with 2 kids...a boy and a girl named Julie and Alexander (because I know you were dying to know!). Looking at where my life is NOW I still don't think I'm ready for that...but maybe by the time I'm 30 ;-) Here's some stuff that I've got on my "before I hit 30" list:

• Live somewhere else! Colorado? Boston? Not sure...but now is the time to do it!
  
• Teach Yoga (somewhere other than SHM although I love that I'm able to!)
• Complete my Vinyasa teaching certification
• Go to Peru and Egypt (Yay! I can check one of these off in April!)
• Return to the tourism industry in Philadelphia or whatever other magical city I end up living in.
  
• Watch all of the Star Wars and Rocky Movies. I know. I know. I should be ashamed of myself.
• Have a freelance writing piece published! (next step: what the heck do i want to write about?)

Since you know how much I LOVE the show, I recommend you all go to www.hulu.com and watch last week's episode of How I Met Your Mother...Marshall reads a letter from his 16 year old self to his 30 year old self. Its silly. You'll love it!

Life Goals

I don't have anything interesting or witty to say here. My biggest goal in life is to be a mom that also gets to work from home. I guess a goal to go along with that is to get as much experience as I can before I become a mom so when I'm ready to work again I have something to show for myself.

I guess the interesting thing about that is, 5 years ago I didn't want to be a mom at all and if I did somehow get stuck with kids they were going to daycare. Funny how things change :)

Even if my career aspirations or interests change between now and 10 years from now, I'll still want to have some kind of stay at home/part time job so my #1 focus can be my kids but I still feel a level of independence - and have something to keep me from going crazy. Fife would like me to get a job at a University so our kids can go to college for free...SHOCKING. We'll see how that all turns out.

Have a great weekend everyone, see you Monday!

Loving the cookies!

I think my biggest long term goals are (well they are all inter related) - Become a Dentist and have a happy family including 2 or more dogs.
I don't really have big long term goals. I believe in going with the flow. But I do have short term goals which I know would lead me to a good future. Like right now, my short term goal would be to do awesome on my Dental Admission Tests so I can get into a dental school. These are the 2 things I know, that would make me feel sccomplished in life. I've always wanted to do be a Health Professional, also I believe that its always important to have a happy home. So along with fulfilling my ambitious dream, I would want a happy family with 2 or more dogs(cuz I love dogs and 1 wouldn't be enough). I really wouldn't care where I live as far as I have these two things in my life.

I hope everyone had a great time at the SHM holiday party. I wish we could have one more, it was so much fun. Meredith- I can't believe you posted those pictures on facebook. My mom's on facebook and she was like is this what you do at work?- Drink and gamble haha she was kidding.

I am sorry Carly and Mer, if you had cover phones for me yesterday. I was out cuz I had to take a final and I completely forgot to let Elaine know that. :-(

Have an amazing weekend !

My SHM Snuggie made my day.

When I was reading Meredith’s blog post I noticed that I feel exactly the same way (obviously because we are the same type). I find that I can’t pin point a long term goal for myself because I want to experience so many things. Here are a few things that I’ve thought of that I know I want to do before I die:

-be a counselor at the overnight camp that I went to when I was growing up
-visit my brother while he’s in the Peace Corps
-raise my family in Colorado
-run a marathon
-make a significant difference in someone’s life

I don’t know what I want to do for a career but I know I want to travel. I enjoy taking life as it happens and I love being spontaneous. So, maybe my biggest long term goal is to stay spontaneous throughout my life and enjoy it to the fullest.

GOALS

My biggest long term goal is to marry a Flyer, and hopefully by then he'll have a Stanley Cup under his belt rather than a terrible losing streak. Actually, any player in the NHL in general would do, Joffrey Lupul perhaps? Ok but seriously, my biggest long term goal.. would probably be to make a name for myself as a Freelance Designer.... or I guess just as a Graphic Designer period.. but I would really like to have my own solid client base together and a really strong portfolio with tons of different projects. I think the most appealing thing about freelancing is you can work on such a variety of things! And you can make your own schedule, take projects you like, reject projects you don't want.... but I don't think I'd want to freelance full time, more as a side gig. It would be a good job to have if I was trying to raise a family though.... with lupul. Ok, ok.. I'm done.

Goals

This weeks' guest blogger? KATIE.
(Kari and Celisse, you still have to post, so you can choose to answer either last weeks' or this weeks' question....I'm being nice).

Todd, Ashley and Kari know this about me:

I hate making goals for myself.

I don't know why, but I think it's because I don't like planning things out in my life. I like having a general idea (ideally married by 25, ideally living in LA, etc.) but I don't like having every step planned out for me, because what if I don't like to follow those steps? I like knowing that just because things didn't go according to plan (which they NEVER do), doesn't mean I failed, or that I was unsuccessful.

I may have a general idea of what I want to do when I get out to Los Angeles, but I'd rather just go with the flow (settle into my dream home with the rock star hubby, travel with him, etc.) then find the right company for me or know exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Anyway, all of this is being discussed because today I made my Professional Development Plan with the help of Kari. So I want to ask all of you, what is your biggest long term goal?

Mine is to move to Los Angeles by the time I am between the ages of 24 and 25.

Major changes in QI!

There were major changes in QI department this week. I know it does not affect my role directly but it affects who I would be interacting with. There are new people coming in and I am really excited to work with them. It will be amazing to see how Joe will be taking over QI and having 1:1 with Joe should be interesting since I have to report to a Senior staff from our department once every 3 weeks. Also, there’s a new consultant who is going to be working with us and she used to work in CHOP so it would be interesting to get some input from her and learn something new from her. I would never expect to experience these changes but I guess I see how a company has to make changes for improvement. And I wasn’t here for the all staff meeting that day but I heard the example Larry gave about the basketball team and a new player on the team which I thought was really good! I guess I can put my learning from the book- Who moved my cheese-actually into action.

changes..

The changes that are happening are going to affect everyone in different ways ..
A couple ways it's going to affect me when Katie leaves the department is that she will no longer be my CVB! :(
The Monday art meeting will be changing.. Todd passed the ownership along to Ashley.. and she's already got some new ideas as well as a new time (10 AM .. thumbs up!)
Todd gave me some small projects to update his binder for the changes as well! I'm sure we're all going to see changes everywhere, whether they're big or not!

As an MA, I find it very interesting that I am experiencing these changes. Nothing like this has ever happened in my past and I always wondered what it would be like. It’s hard for me to see how my job will change because my role has not been directly affected, but, I am excited to have the chance to take on more tasks and really expand my job. I would love to work with multiple people in the department and the office and I feel that these changes will help push that along. This will give me more of an opportunity to get the most that I possibly can out of this co-op.

Happy holidays everyone! What’s on everyone’s wish list??

A Change Gon' Come

We had two meetings today discussing some internal changes here at SHM. There have been some changes between departments with some people taking on a much larger role and some people switching roles completely. Personally the changes do affect me. Katie will be leaving the M&M department to take on a role in the Advocacy and Practice Management department. Since I have been Katie's MA since starting here, Im sure my role within the department will change. I'm sure I will continue to work with Katie on the PR task force and look forward to continuing to do that. But with Katie's departure I will most likely become someone elses MA. I have not heard anything about whos or when this transition will take place but I look forward to continuing and possibly expanding my role here at SHM. I want to help everyone in this process so this transition is as seamless as possible. Id also like to thank Katie for all the help and guidance that shes given me while working with her. She has really been a big help here. So in conclusion these changes will affect my position and possibly my role here at SHm. I look forward to continuing to help out whoever it is I am working with.
On a personal note I had a great break this weekend. I got to see all my family over Thanksgiving and had two reunions with all my highschool friends. Also I got to go to the Eagles game Sunday which was very cool. I got to see a win which really capped off the weekend the right way. So overall a very good break and looking forward to seeing all my friends again over Christmas

Cant believe its December already

1. Given that we have a 3 day work week, how are you managing your work load in three days as opposed to five?
Just trying to get all of my usual work done in a timely fashion so i can get done any extra work that I would need those last two days to complete. Im a little late on this post so I can tell you the workload last week wasnt terrible and I got my work done. The dashboards got pushed back to yesterday which was a huge help for me.

2. What are your plans for the upcoming holiday weekend/Black Friday? Does your family have a Thanksgiving tradition?
I had Thanksgiving Thursday with my dads family up in PA and Friday went down the shor for part 2 with my grandmom. I guess the only real tradition is opening my birthday gifts from the family before dinner. My birthday always falls the week of Thanksgiving so I get my gifts when the families get together.

3. What is your favorite Turkey Day dish & why?
Either my grandmoms baked mac and cheese or my uncles smoked turkey. He does one regular turkey and then smokes one. Both dishes are fantastic.

All Things Go

Welcome back from a lovely 5 day vacation. I hope everyone enjoyed their time off, I know I did.

This morning, we all heard about some pretty serious changes about to take place.

How do you think these changes are going to personally affect you?

I leave you with a quote John said this morning:
"Experience is not what happens to a person, it is what a person does with what happens to them."

Santa Claus is coming to town!

1. Given that we have a 3 day work week, how are you managing your work load in three days as opposed to five?
My week is only a 2 day week, but luckily I don’t have an overwhelming amount on my plate for SHM. But, I have a lot of homework to get done for my class so that’s been pretty stressful. I made a to do list to keep organized and know what I have to get done by the end of the day today (I can cross this off now!).

2. What are your plans for the upcoming holiday weekend/Black Friday? Does your family have a Thanksgiving tradition?
I am staying as far away from the mall as possible on Friday. I’m not a Black Friday goer. This year my family from Colorado is joining us for Thanksgiving! I rarely get to see them so this is a huge treat!

3. What is your favorite Turkey Day dish & why?
I’m pumped for some mashed potatoes and peas! My g-ma introduced all of us to the combo and it’s stuck ever since.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

1. Given that we have a 3 day work week, how are you managing your work load in three days as opposed to five?
Just making sure everything on my list gets done, this is a good week to have a kind of light work load :)

2. What are your plans for the upcoming holiday weekend/Black Friday? Does your family have a Thanksgiving tradition?
Thanksgiving day at my aunt&uncle's house.. tradition: everyone watches football.
Black Friday tradition: my grandmom, mom, aunts, sisters & cousins always go shopping and have lunch... the past couple years my mom and grandmom shop (my grandmom tackles ALL her Christmas shopping) and then everyone else just meets for lunch.

3. What is your favorite Turkey Day dish & why?
STUFFING! It's so good.

i can't believe it is almost thanksgiving

1. Given that we have a 3 day work week, how are you managing your work load in three days as opposed to five?
As you will see by the time of this blog post - Staying later.

2. What are your plans for the upcoming holiday weekend/Black Friday? Does your family have a Thanksgiving tradition? Headed to my aunt/uncle/cousins house where the whole family will be. Oh there are Thanksgiving traditions…

• Tradition #1) One by one we go around the table and have to say what we are thankful for before we start eating.
• Tradition #2) Somehow got passed down to me this year – Is some sort of entertainment slash game… See up until this year this used to be grandmas job BUT she has kindly asked me to do the honors. She usually gives Chiclets (I looked it up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiclets they have been around since 1906…grams is ADORABLE!) out to the winners of each game which is confusing because I haven’t seen them in a store for years. SO needless to say this should be interesting and I have a very high bar to live up to and I better come up with some pretty awesome prizes. Ideas are welcomed!

3. What is your favorite Turkey Day dish & why?
Mashed potatoes - they are the best.

Its monday!! :-(

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend.
1. Is your business giving your members those memorable welcomes?
I definitely believe that SHM gives its members those memorable welcomes. My only experience (face to face) was the board meeting and even though they were Board members and not regular members, I am sure SHm gives all its members those memorable welcomes.
From food to meeting schedule to everything, was very well organized. If not face to face, I hear my department and the rest of the department attend conference calls and everyone is extremely polite and respectful.

2. How can you help your team members bring their unique brand of welcoming to your business?
I could help my team members bring this unique brand of welcoming by making sure that if I am a part of a confeerence call, I would be respectful and polite as to what they are talking about. While covering the phones, I make sure that I transfer them to the appropriate department so they don't have to get transferred more than one time.

3. Look around. Whom can you welcome today?
I am ready to welcome anyone possible haha

Have an amazing week and yay to the 3-day week!! :-)

Turkey turkey doo and turkey turkey dap.

Ashley & John are up to bat this week.

Also, we're gonna go with 1 serious question and 2 fun ones.

1. Given that we have a 3 day work week, how are you managing your work load in three days as opposed to five?

2. What are your plans for the upcoming holiday weekend/Black Friday? Does your family have a Thanksgiving tradition?

3. What is your favorite Turkey Day dish & why?

Big ups to Christine for helping me out with these questions.
KARMA COUPON COMING YOUR WAY.

Happy eats, everyone!

I didn't watch this video, but it's supposed to be Adam Sandler's Thanksgiving Song. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z27FKwupds

Welcomes..

1. Is your business giving your members those memorable welcomes?

Yes. I think 2 big pieces that prove this are the New & Renewing Member Kits and the Membership Reference Card. Both of these are new, in production now, and will help welcome members more! Everyone put so much work into revamping the content and look of the Member Kits to give members & prospects a better feel for everything they will get from their membership. The Reference Card was made so that everybody has quick access to questions they may need to answer on the phone so that they can be of more help to members.

2. How can you help your team members bring their unique brand of welcoming to your business?

Again I think the Member Kits are definitely bringing SHM's unique brand to welcome members. Just the fact that the member kits are personalized with members/prospects name is so warm and welcoming! I think that added element is really appealing and will draw a lot of attention.

3. Look around. Whom can you welcome today?

I always try to be welcoming to everybody.. I think it's important to always have an open mind and make an effort to talk/greet everyone. Especially after the Myers-Briggs activity where we saw how people interpret things differently. If you were to just quickly pass someone by, they may get the feeling you don't like them or start to think you're rude.

More cheery then a Starbucks barista

1. Is your business giving your members those memorable welcomes?
I sure hope so. My most extensive interactions with members is when I answer phones. While answering phones I try and be a cheery and polite as possible, speak clearly, and try and help every call as much as I can. I dont interact directly, face-to-face, with any members but I'm sure those in the departement who do, show that we are a great orginization made up of quality people who truely care about the members.

2.How can I help my team members bring their unique brand of welcome to the business?
I think the biggest thing I can do is to help Christine as much as possible. If i can give her a hand with any tasks that she needs to complete, she can spend more time with her members who she deals with daily.

3. Whom can I welcome today?
I can welcome every person in the office! I try and say hi and hello and good morning to everyone I see because when you are polite and cheerful to someone, they are bound to show you the same back. And its a great feeling when on a rough monday you are greeted warmly.

So everyone have a safe weekend and Ill see you all on Monday.
Zip it up and zip it out.

Add a little color into your world...

Blog's a little later than usual, but still up before I leave!

1. Is your business giving your members those memorable welcomes? I would hope so. As a member of the Membership and Marketing department I feel that we all work very hard to create a memorable atmosphere for our members. I can’t say that I’ve any hands on experiences considering I haven’t been to an event. BUT I create Chapter event thank you letter’s which I think members appreciate!

2. How can I help my team members bring their unique brand of welcome to the business? Well like I said before, I create the thank you letters for the chapter events. Also, I try to give as much input as possible for different strategies, etc. It is difficult to make a significant impact since I don’t have any direct interaction with members.

3. Whom can I welcome today? Anyone and everyone! And I agree with Kari, I think everyone should post their ideas answers too!

Have a great weekend!

THANKSGIVING NEXT WEEK!

Dear Meredith -

I hope I'm not disappointing you by making this post my "Friday Afternoon Activity". I just read how much you hate that, but I'm pretty sure you'll get over it.

So, as I sit here sipping a nice large glass of iced coffee from Dunks, I'll attempt to tackle the following questions from the Starbucks Experience.

1. Is your business giving your members those memorable welcomes?

During the membership SOF presentation last week, I was really excited to hear Joe stop and express the importance of the customer experience. We are, after all, a membership organization and without the commitment of our members where would we be? For the most part, I' think that the SHM staff is very respectful and helpful in their customer interactions, but as fore MEMORABLE? I can't quite say. Our onsite events and face-to-face interactions are without a doubt highly memorable. The majority of our interactions however take place via phone, and for those I'd say....probably not so memorable. So what do we do to fix this? I think the Membership Franchise has taken a big step with the creation of the Reference Guide.


2. How can you help your team members bring their unique brand of welcoming to your business?

Practice. Practice. Practice. With the exception of Christine who on most days never puts her phone DOWN, many of us have very little interaction with our members. If you're not easily able to jump into to conversations, the thought of talking to members may cause anxiety or unsettledness. There will be a day when that enevitable call will be transferred to you from the front desk and here is my advice (which i actually stole from the book Fish!): SMILE! Believe it or not, when you smile while on the phone, the listener can actually feel it! At this point you've already created a pleasant enviornment and the rest is a breeze.


3. Look around. Whom can you welcome today?

I'm welcoming all of YOU to share your comments to this post. :) And maybe I'll even flash you a smile as I pass your desk today....anf if you're luck enough to get them YOU'RE WELCOME!

Oops...I was supposed to blog last week...

I guess the fact that I forgot is because according to Myers-Briggs, I'm only concerned with what the immediate, tangible tasks are and this wasn't on my list for last week :)

So - you posed the question "What are some things that surprised you about your personality type? Did you have trouble figuring out your type? What is one thing that didn't surprise you at all?"

I really struggled picking out my personality type. Mostly because I always considered myself an extrovert and was surprised to be typed as an introvert (FYI - I'm ISTJ). As most of you may know, Leslie does Myers-Briggs with her clients all the time and since I work with her so closely, she typed me right away. She explained the difference between intro and extro-verts as what "feeds" you, and less about whether or not you're outspoken or sociable.

After that, it made a little more sense. Here's a few dead on bullets about my work habits:

• Prefers uninterrupted privacy
• Enjoys structure, order and few interruptions
• Highly values consistency and ability to work at a stead pace
• Concentrates on meeting deadlines and timelines

So, when I seem annoyed at interruptions or "tom-foolery", now you know why :)

ISTJ was similar to a few others and I could've gone either way, until I read the potential pitfalls of "May neglect interpersonal niceties" and "May become rigid in their ways and thought of as inflexible". I knew this was right on, especially when Kari and Todd read it and laughed!

Although I was confused and in between a few different personality types at first, when Leslie, and Krystal, introduced ISTJ I was sold. The introvert side applies to me outside of work also - I prefer a pub to a noisy club atmosphere, and I focus more on the people in my life than on making new relationships. Makes sense, right?

So there you have it - Myers-Briggs wins again.

Kari - I'm still waiting for my "Get over it" tshirt :)

Monday Funday

Collective Reality Update: Katie still needs to answer last weeks' question, and Kari is our guest blogger this week!

This week, I am taking the question right of the book I am reading called "The Starbucks Experience." The chapter I am on focuses on Customer Service, and I know in our last Membership meeting, one main point of focus was to focus on what the MEMBERS want, not what we want.

So here are THREE questions that go together:
1. Is your business giving your members those memorable welcomes?
2. How can you help your team members bring their unique brand of welcoming to your business?
3. Look around. Whom can you welcome today?

Hooray for customer (membership) service!


I have a feeling I'll be posting a lot of questions from this book....

Looking at new coop resumes?

Hey everyone
Time is flying! I cant believe I am looking at the new coop cycle resumes already. I didnt know it was this hard to pick the right person. This is such a luck game! And I feel like I am really lucky to be working here.

What are the things that surprised me about my personality? I am an ESFJ. But I was really confused if I am an extrovert or an introvert. I am technically an extrovert but when it comes to doing work, I am an introvert. The personality sheet said I speak with energy and persuasiveness. Well I dont think that's true haha I guess I do, but I think I am more of a calmer person. The other thing was that I avoid conflict and sweep problems under rug. Umm not so much.

Well the other things about me were pretty close and I completely agree that I like to work with loyal and commited people and I like to complete projects in an orderly fashion.

This personality sheet was really helpful. I felt like I learned a lot more about myself.

Have a good weekend everyone! and I leave at 3 today. Be jealous :-)

Friday the 13th

I feel bad that we don’t write random blog posts. Personally, I would love to start because I really enjoy writing random things and reading random posts from others. I’ve even gone back to read past posts because they make me giggle…yes, giggle. So, I think that we should all try to take 5 minutes out of our week to post something completely random. I will try my best!

After taking the Myers-Briggs test (for the first time) I was more than satisfied with my type (ESFP). I think it is pretty spot on. However, at first I was mixed between ESFP and ENFP. After getting the more in depth description sheet from Krystal, I think I’m exactly in the middle. There are qualities on each that I feel I possess. All in all, it was really interesting and I’m glad I had the chance to take the test.

This weekend is pretty much dedicated to dinners. Tonight, I am going to Max Brenner for dinner and chocolate dessert! I’ve heard some great things about this restaurant so I can’t wait! And tomorrow night is my Grandmas birthday so the whole family is going out to a Chinese banquet dinner. It’s about 13 courses. Enough said. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!!

PS. Come visit Michael and Jackson (the seal and special bear on my cube) and I will tell you a story.

On Time

This weekend will mark the end of a timeless icon for all Drexel students and Philadelphians alike. The Penn Coach Yard Chimney, better known as the 'Drexel Shaft', will be imploded. I for one am very sad to see such a recognizable landmark be taken down and am not happy with the decision. I think we’re getting the Drexel Shaft to tell you the truth. Well MBTI. When we did this in the office the other week, it was the fourth time I had done the test. Twice in AP Pysch in high school, once in Pysch at Drexel and once here. The results have been constant across the board and I’ve never really wavered between two types. The description of my type is pretty accurate. Some of the descriptions were dead-on such as may not value their own priorities enough because of desire to please others. I definitely think that’s me. Also, communicates personal experiences to make points and replies quickly and thinks on his feet. All of the things are a pretty good description of me. The one thing that continues to surprise me is how accurate the type is. It has always done a great job of labeling me almost to the T. One of the things I find to be very interesting is the few numbers of types there are. My type has my personality exact but I feel as though I don’t meet many people with personalities so similar that it’s noticeable. I guess that’s because we all have different tendencies and within each specific type, there is some definite wiggle-room. I also think it would be a little weird meeting someone with the exact same personality. So that’s that with the MBTI. Wonder if I’ll ever have to do it again.

Dear Todd, I’m here to state that I’m going to make a more conscious effort to post to the blog on time. I was real good about it until two weeks ago. Then I had two straight weeks of late posts but I’m back on schedule and won’t be late again. Meredith will make sure of that. Also, I’m tired of getting called out on the blog so that’s just more motivation to have these in on time.

When I heard we were writing a letter to you, I was a little unsure about what to write. But then I figured I’d talk about the thing that I’m most comfortable with and something that you clearly have an interest in. That would be Philadelphia sports. Unfortunately, the Phillies fell a little short of the repeat but I’d definitely say that the season, and the off-season, was a success. We locked up Ibanez and Lee this year, without giving up any big time prospects like Drabek. Rollins and Victorino both got Gold Gloves for their defensive accomplishments and I really think Utley deserved one as well. In conclusion, I’m going to go ahead and predict a rematch with the yanks in next October/November Classic.

Eagles- A so-so start to the year. Highlights: Both Maclin and McCoy have contributed a ton as rookies and are making a serious impact on the offense. Brent Celek has made himself in to a serious target for McNabb and with the exception of the Oakland game, the O-Line has looked solid, especially being as banged up as they are. Deasean Jackson has turned into one of the biggest weapons in the league.
Disappointments- Westbrook has caught the injury bug and his absence really hurt us in the Dallas game. A very poor showing against the lowly Raiders hurt our record. Losing Stewart Bradley to an acl tear before the season(although Will Witherspoon has looked sharp since we traded for him with St. Louis) Overall I give the season so far a B and look forward to the rest of the season and the playoff push.

Sincerely
Jake

Dear Todd,

It upsets me to hear you say you are not that big of a hockey fan. There is nothing wrong with eating 4.5 DOLLAR pretzels at dollar pretzel night. I was just trying to help the Flyers reach their goal of 12,000 pretzels total.. which I'm pretty sure they failed. They reached their goal on dollar dog night (which I was also at.. don't remember my count or theirs unfortunately.) They also had an eating contest, it was pathetic.. one of the guys ate a total of 1 hot dog. I think the winner ate 6. If there was a pretzel eating contest I think I would have been an excellent competitor.

Moral of the story: I love soft pretzels and cheap food.

I bet you could have guessed my letter would be Flyers related! I can't wait for tomorrow's game... hopefully they continue their winning streak :)

Sincerely,
Kat

A Fine Line

It's an interesting question that was posed, where to draw the line when it comes to fun in the work place...I ponder this one a lot because on one hand, I like to have fun with the best of them (and have been accused of running a camp at times) but on the other hand, have to be the head RA and jump in if the fun is getting in the way...

I see there being a couple of key elements to consider when deciding whether or not to have a rubber band fight that includes the majority of the department :->

- Timing

What's going on when you get that urge...is it late in the day, when work is wrapping up, or is it in the middle of a Monday when we're all need deep in meetings and a lot of goings on? I think if you pause for a second, you can pretty accurately decide on whether or not it's a good time to play that prank on Meredith.

- Environment

You have to pause and take the "temperature" of the department, and sometimes the office...quite honestly, if I'm in a less than jovial mood, or if we're dealing as a group with a significant issue, it's not the time...our department has a personality and if you pause to understand it, you will start to get a sense of whether or not we're in a joking/fun mood or if it's a day to stay focused...

So...a sense of timing and the environment are two keys, and I see the third as

- Respect

Whether or not your bosses are looking over your shoulder...we usually have a pretty good sense of the amount of the work on your plate, and how well you are doing in getting through your assignments...if you show respect by working through your plate diligently, communicating with your colleagues about the status of things going on and generally giving your best effort, we like having a little fun with the best of them...that's why the phrase is "work hard, play hard" as opposed to "play hard then catch up with your plate by working hard"


Just some food for thought

Dear Todd

Dear Todd,

Scenario: $1 soft pretzel night at the Flyer's game.

What would you do? (If possible, please relate to your Myer's-Briggs personality type)

Sincerely,
Carly

A Letter to the Toddfather

Dear Todd,

Hello. My name is Meredith and I am from a place called Pennsylvania. Have you ever been their? A lot of people think that I might be Amish becuz when they think "Pennsylvania" that is what they think of. I sometimes like to visit and see horseys on buggies. Where are you from? I like to eat sandwiches and candy. But sometimes I like to run. Okay, not really. Do you like tomatoes? What is your favorite movie? Thanks for being a grate pen pal, it's real nice of you.

Signed,
Meredith

Okay let's be real now:

Dear Todd,

This morning you asked all of us to write a letter to you. What am I going to say? No idea, really.

Well, I'm glad you realize that you suck at writing in the blog on time. The question you have to answer is from last week, not this week. If you answer the wrong question, you lose major points.
It's hard to motivate people to write in here. When the bossman is assigned to write in the blog and takes longer to answer the question than Jake does, there's a problem. I understand there is a lot on your plate, but you constantly stress how important writing in here is, especially on time, so when you don't post on time, it becomes hypocritical, a bad example, and it makes me sad!

I'm not saying all that to bust your chops, and I don't know if I even worded it the best way, but as a department-wide activity (and Roshni), I'm constantly wondering why it takes someone 5 days, last minute, or late, to write in the blog each week. In my opinion, the blog shouldn't be seen as a "Friday activity." It should be seen as a place to visit when you want to take a break from your tasks.

On another note, I just got a stack of resumes from Ashley yesterday. I'm pretty pumped to review them, even though I don't recognize any names. I think I enjoy this process so much because I like seeing different styles of resumes, and I like knowing that I have the ability to decide which resume is good enough and which one would never in a million years qualify for an interview. I like knowing that I have a part in deciding who will be the next round of MAs. Also, I really enjoy sitting in on the interviews.

Remember last year when Alex, Dettmer, Jill and I started? I remember the first Friday we were there, you gave us a "Friday activity" and we all competed to see who could come up with the best concept for something and whoever won got some kind of prize. What happened to those Friday activities? I always look forward to Fridays, but having even a bi-weekly fun Friday activity/competition between the MAs, SMA and full-time GD would be fun to start up again. Ready.....go! ....Just kidding, but think about it?

That's all I've got.
Meredith

fridayyyyyy

Happy FRIDAY! I'm pretty excited for the weekend..tomorrow specifically. Going to the flyers game with CHRISTINE! It's gonna be a lot of fun, and we have really good seats. The Flyers are on a 5 game winning streak at the moment (there goes the jinx) I was at the game last night DOLLAR PRETZEL NIGHT... and they won 5-1. It was a good game. I'm also going to the game on Monday with Celisse (CELISSE we have to get our tickets) Also one more thing about hockey and then I'll shut up-- the penguins are in a 4 game LOSING streak. that makes me happy.

Meredith-- getting your wisdom teeth out isn't that bad.. it's an excuse to eat ice cream all weekend! And it's not too painful, after the first 12 hours or so I switched to just using advil and it wasn't so bad... oh and laughing gas is pretty cool.

Alright to the question... One thing that did suprise me is that I didn't have any trouble figuring out my type.. I figured out each category very easily and the descriptions were all very accurate. For the most part I really wasn't suprised about my personality type.. I guess cause it sounded like me. I did just get the one page description and the On a Team section doesn't sound like me.. then I took a little quiz with about 70 questions to make sure my type was right and I got the same one..so I'm sticking with ISTP.


Have a good weekend!

Office Space

Whats going on all? Hope everyone had a good weekend aside from a heartbreaking Bird's loss. It's alright though. Were still the best team in the NFC East and will end of winning the division. So the question this week deals with having fun in the workplace. In my opinion, fun and laughter have no place in an office setting. Just kidding! See thats some fun right there. In my personal experience there is a certain amount of trust gained between co-workers when they move beyond workplace conversation and relationships. When there is no joking in the workplace, there can often be a tension created between peers. They look at each other solely as machines who do their designated job. I do my best to try and make sure I talk to everyone here about events not related to work. It keeps the workplace fresh and allows for conversation and interaction that would not occur otherwise. In my opinon humor is key to working well. If I am staring at my screen for 8 hours just working, I begin to lose focus. I need something to momentarily divert my attention and that allows me to refocus on the goal at hand. So humor is important. Work is important. Balance the two and you will enjoy work and be a more productive person.

See you here on Friday.....or Monday...well see.

Clever sign off.

blog blog blog

This is one of my favorite times of year!

I can do without the shivering, but I love snowboarding, I love snow, I love Christmas (come check out my Christmas lights), etc., etc.

Something I don't love: the fact that I probably have to get one of my wisdom teeth pulled soon.

Anyway, this weeks' guest blogger will be Katie! Wooo!
Todd and Jake, you STILL have to post!!
(Jake, this is starting to be a reoccurring theme with you...).

We all did the Meyers-Briggs personality type test a few weeks back. This week, we are taking steps to further the information we gained and apply it to our every day.
That being said, what are some things that surprised you about your personality type? Did you have trouble figuring out your type? What is one thing that didn't surprise you at all?

Happy Monday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA

Can't believe its almost Holiday Season?

Hey Everyone

So Meredith keeps winning my newsletter prizes..everyone you need to step up your game! Haha

Jake- stop messing up all the color printers!

Carly- Len told me about your halloween costume..sounds awesome haha can we see pictures pleaasee ;-)

That's right, SHM is definitely a unique working environment, I havent been so chill with my coworkers ever and I would love to have such an amazing job forever. Just because people here are so much fun but at the same time, everyone gets their work done!

So how would I draw a line between having a good time and working hard. This is what I do. I finish my tasks and if I get tired, I would go around and say hi to few people here and there. This is my "break time". And this is a way for me to get refreshed and get back to work again. I also think its really important to catch up with your coworkers once in a while just so that we all are at the same pace. And this is how I handle having fun and getting work done. I believe there should be a balance and as far as you are getting your work done, theres nothing wrong in having fun!

Bye Guys Have an amazing weekend

Phillies lost- I had to change my quote for my newsletter. Orginally it was about Ryan Howard, but I was pretty sad about Phillies losing so I changed it to a Mahatma Gandhi quote :-( Pretty lame I know..

Have fun! :-)

November??

Happy Friday! I can't believe it's Friday (AND NOVEMBER).. the week went by so fast! Not too much going on this weekend... I'll probably just hang out and watch the Flyers game tonight :) then I have a wedding tomorrow. Anyway.. I really hope the Septa strike is over by Monday.. oh hey MEREDITH thanks for driving me all week, you're the best.

When it comes to balancing work and play at work I think It's important to just keep in mind what you have to do. It's fine to joke around and have fun (and obviously we do at SHM) but I think as long as your main focus is getting done what you need to get done and you're not neglecting your work then you're good!

Have a good weekend!

La Vie Boheme!

Happy Friday! After a long week of Phillies and SEPTA issues, it is finally time for the weekend and catching up on sleep.

It is great working in an office that is laid back and fun. It makes everything very comfortable, especially when first starting the job. I was super excited to start working here because I knew what a fun environment it was. However, it can also be somewhat negative when there are important projects on the line. It is important that people do not let the fun of the office affect their work. I think the line should be drawn when a deadline is creeping up and the project has to get done in a certain amount of time. When people crack down and take a step away from the fun, it helps them get work done faster and more efficiently. People should prioritize work and play. And, people know that once the project is done, a weight is lifted and they can relax and enjoy more fun and good times in the office.

“All work no play makes Johnny a dull boy.” (Creepy movie but very relevant!)

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Stay warm!

PS. I highly recommend listening to the Glee Cast station on Pandora (thanks MER)

Better late than on time right??

Let me start off by apologizing to Meredith for my tardiness. Sorry Mer. So I was one fo the sick people last week so this post will be very relevant. When someone is out sick the best thing they can do is try and be as productive as possible when they get back in. That means while they are out, other employees should do what they can to help and pick up some of the responsibilities the person missed. An office is a team enviornment and employees must do whatever they can to help a fellow employee. It is also a much appreciated gesture. The last thing a person wants to hear the first day back to the office is how much work they are late with and how no one decided to give them a hand. If one of my fellow employees was ever sick, i would try and see if there was anything ic ould do to try and ease their transition back into the office. Whether thats filing some papers for them or sending an e-mail for them. Any small thing you can do for another person is one less thing thats the person has to worry about when they come back.
Overall a decent week for Philadelphia sports. The Eagles trounced the Giants in an allout beat down and the Phils kept my playoff beard going til at least Wednesday. For those of you who dont know, I dont normally wear a beard this long. Actually this may be the longest ive gone without shaving. BUT, it is all about the playoff beard. Its important and for all my Seinfeld fans "gotta support the team" I promise that my post this week will be on time. Meredith would kill me if I was this late again. Oh, and I am not a fan of the SEPTA strike. Kinda messing with my whole commute thing. Oh well.

Have a happy Tuesday all and I'll see you here again Friday.

...The M&M Plague continues...

Use that hand sanitizer everyone! I have some sweet spray sanitizer if anyone is interested...
Most of us are back and feeling better (Hey Kari!) but John went home sick today, so to those of you who haven't caught the plague (Ashley, Katie, Celisse, Vernita & Carly), be careful!!

This weeks' guest blogger: Todd!
Jake, please answer last weeks' question!!!!

We all know SHM has a unique working environment. We like to have fun, while working hard at the same time. That's right, I got jokes. Anyway, here's this weeks question:

Where do you draw the line between having a good time and cracking down and getting work done, how do you balance fun in the work place?

PS - Dear Phillies, can we please have a win tonight?
Also, I'm going to my first Cowboys/Eagles game on Sunday! FINALLY.

What's driving these employees into the office with colds, cough drops, and crutches?

Since I was one of the lucky ones infected by the plague… this blog suits me well. I think the most important part of helping an employee that is out of the office or when you return from being out is to prioritize. Make a list of what is most important and what needs to be completed first and then move on. Rome wasn’t built in a day and sometimes it will take more time to catch up, but by prioritizing you can tackle smaller goals at one. This also works when others are out because you can prioritize your work and then help them as needed.

I found an article below that was kind of interesting. This article is titled, “Coming to Work Sick: Dedication or Desperation?”

“It's not uncommon for employees to show up at work sick--but is it becoming a trend? Nearly 90 percent of those responding to a LifeCare(R) poll admit to working sick. What's driving these employees into the office with colds, cough drops, and crutches? Not necessarily true dedication.

Here's what they said:
-- 27 percent show up out of obligation--they're stressed about their workload;
-- 24 percent feel it's too 'risky' to be absent;
-- 17 percent bankroll their sick time for child care emergencies; and
-- 18 percent weighed in with a variety of other motives.

LifeCare, the exclusive provider of Life Event Management(R) Services, conducted the month-long poll online, among the employees of its 1,000-plus clients nationwide.

"It's really in no one's best interest if an employee comes to work sick or avoids taking vacation time," says Peter G. Burki, LifeCare CEO and co-founder. "After all, ill and exhausted employees simply aren't going to be productive. And, employees with contagious conditions, such as the flu, put co-workers at risk for illness. Burki also points to the fact that employees who forego taking vacation time risk burnout and developing feelings of resentment--both of which can lead to productivity loss and employee turnover.

"It's admirable to be a dedicated employee but if this many people are foregoing staying home when they have legitimate cause, employers should consider openly addressing this issue and creating a culture that is more openly supportive," says Burki.”

I saw this lady with red hair in the cafe!!

So I saw this lady with red woolen hair, she looked really scary and I have no idea what she was dressed as but I swear she was bitter cuz I think her office probably made it sound like everyone had to dress but they picked on her and she was the only one dressed up in a weird costume! It was hillarious!

Meredith! I love the second one...I hope I see you around campus
Good job with the clean up day everyone and I am not going to lie but the office did feel really empty, I'm glad everyone's recovering and comign back to work :-)
Well the QI department hasn't been sick at all(knock on wood) and I took my swine flu shot yesterday so I think I should be good..

When people in the office are out sick, the other people should get in touch with them and look up their tasks that had a deadline. Since SHM has an amazing "P drive" I am sure everyone saves their important files onto p-drive so that their absence wouldn't be an end of the world situation. If I am the one that's sick, I would make sure I keep other members in the department aware of my top priority tasks and try and keep up with it by myself from home; And if not then once I come back to the office, I would make a list of tasks and complete each one according to its priority. Honestly, I don't know if I would stay longer, but I would definitely cut down on my lunch break and probably eat at my desk so I can save time like that.

Have a good weekend everyone, I'll attach a picture of myself in the next blog hopefully, cuz I can't find a picture online that looks like my costume!

And feel better everyone!!

GO PHILS AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2 in 1

I forgot to post last week! AHHhh. so my answer to last weeks question:

Describe SHM to a prospective member.

If I had to describe SHM to a prospective member I would whip out the NEW new member kit (since it has all the general information they need to know) and the Case Statement (which clearly states the tagline, Hospitalists. Transforming Healthcare. Revolutionizing Patient Care. The Case Statement also has a few quotes/testimonials that would help influence someone's decision.

I was planning on reusing old halloween costumes--Penny Lane from Almost Famous or Dorothy BUT now I'm thinking of boycotting Halloween as well..... mainly because the most important part of Saturday is the WORLD SERIES GAME 3..... so I have to figure out whether I will celebrate Halloween or not.

This weeks question... is pretty easy to answer seeing as everyone in the world is sick. What I did to pick up the slack was work from home to help out as much as I could. To pick up other's slack would just be to find out what's on their plate and would you could help out with/get started. Coming back into the office and prioritizing what you need to do helps when you return.

Well, hope everyone has an awesome weekend, Halloween, and most importantly world series. Go Phillies!

I finally have speakers!

First of all, I really dislike when people are out sick…especially when over half of the department is sick. II was the only MA here on Tuesday and it was quite lonely. At first I didn’t think I would have much work to do, but then I was assigned some design work while Kat was sick. This was super exciting because I love working with Photoshop, etc. I designed an application for new AAPA and AANP members. It was great getting back into graphics and what not. I definitely hope there is more of that to come in the near future!

If I was the one that was sick, depending on how sick I am, I would try to check in as much as possible with Christine or someone. I really don’t like being out of the loop with things. Also, when I would come back into the office, I would most likely make a to-do list and tackle as much as I could in the given amount of time. If there was too much work and it was really important, I would probably stay late to get it done. I don’t like leaving things until the last minute. BUT, hopefully I won’t have to worry about this because I’m still going strong! No illness over in my cube!

I hope everyone enjoys there Halloween! I know I will be enjoying myself at the Phillies game! I expect some sweet costume pics!

1 down, 3 to go!
ROAD TO REPEAT!

Risen from the Dead

I AM BACK PEOPLE.

Feeling better but still have a little hill to climb to get to 100%! Doctor said I could be back at work, so I guess I'm not contagious (cough, cough, COUGH, COUGH).

The guest blogger this week will be CHRISTINE!

First of all, NONE OF YOU (except Ashley) said what you were being for Halloween. I'll be posting pictures at the end of this with the costumes I am trying to execute this weekend.

Here is my question for the week (4 days late):
When people in the office are out sick, how do you pick up the slack? What about if you're the one that's out sick? How do you handle your workload when you come back into the office?

Get better everyone..and happy clean up day!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halloween, Friday night:
Halloween, Saturday night:

What would you say you DO here at SHM?

Q: Describe SHM to a prospective member.

A: With the work that has been done in the past few months on branding the society in any response it is important to capture the feeling that is in our tagline/positioning statement:

TAGLINE
Hospitalists. Transforming Healthcare. Revolutionizing Patient Care.

POSITIONING STATEMENT
The Society of Hospital Medicine is THE national organization for hospitalist. We are leading the transformation and improvement of care for the hospitalized patient through innovation, collaboration, and action.

Other things that prospective members are always curious about are SHM's events, with the majority of questions being about our Annual Meeting and Leadership Academy. Followed by questions about our publications, specifically the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

As far as Halloween goes… I think for the first time in my 27 years of life I am boycotting the holiday BUT if for some crazy reason I need a last minute costume… Bubble Boy it is.

My 1st SHM Exhibit Experience!

This past weekend I took part in my first SHM exhibit experience at the Marriott Hotel and although things ran rather smoothly, it was not a busy exhibit. Something tells me that hanging out with the other exhibitors watching youtube videos is not what SHM had in mind for me. But at least I got to spend time with Meredith and John.

We chatted and got to know each other better and ate at Reading Terminal Market. The Market is probably one of the best spots in the city because of all of the food choices and interesting people. Where else can you eat the best slice of pizza and a Phillies cupcake while watching the Philly Idol Talent Show? For anyone who has walked on 12th and Filbert you know exactly what I'm talking about :-) If not, you need to visit and report back with your own experience.

On another note...more than half of my department is sick! What's a girl to do when she doesn't want to get sick herself? I wash my hands and use Purell regularly but this is getting serious. Yikes! Trying to stay strong...

Later Gators!
Celisse

"What can I do to put you in this database today?"

First off, let the record show that Carly has no proof I actually said that. So a hospitalist walks into the bar and the bartender says "What can I get you?" and the hospitalist says "I'd like an affiliation with a group that offer great benefits and networking opportunities that promotes excellence in the field hospital medicine and delivers." The bartender pours him a tall, frosty glass of SHM and thats how a membership happens. Or so thats what Christine has told me. I dont really know for certain.
If I ever had the opportunity to educate someone about SHM I would first highlight the opportunities that are associated with membership. I would explain about the exciting webinar series that we are currently promoting and how the networking opportunites are excellent. I would also mention the numerous CME credits available through our programs and how it is vital to stay constantly educated in the ever changing world of hospital medicine. I would definitely mention the excited programs and resource rooms we manage such as VTE, CSSSi, and BOOST. All of these programs are new wave and very excited. i would finally tell them about the AWESOME and trendy clothes we have in the store. I would highlight the clothes and not the books. Have you seen the hats we have? To die for. I would also tell them when they sign up over the phone to give a woman named Christine as much trouble as possible.
Its friday and I'm pumped about that. Last nights It's always sunny was hilarious and I havent been keeping up becuase of practice, so it was nice to finally catch a new episode. So thats that. Everyone have an awesome weekend and be safe.

"Ughh I have to write on the blogggg" - Jake Spencer

What a week! I was at Sunday’s and Wednesday’s game and they were both incredible! I can’t believe the Phil’s did it again!! Let’s hope they keep doing their thing and bring it to the World Series!

Anyways, if I met a prospective member, I would definitely concentrate on the benefits. I think that when people are looking to join an organization, they are looking for things that they can benefit from. People love to network, and that is one of the biggest things SHM has to offer. I would also talk about the events because they are a great way to stay connected to the world of hospitalists. Also, the fact that hospitalists are the fastest growing specialty in the history of medicine is very attractive to a lot of people. They see how much it has grown in the last few years, and it is only going to continue to get larger. I think these are some of the best qualities about SHM.

And, for Halloween my friends and I are being superheroes! So, instead of being a batman or superman, I chose the one and only QUAIL MAN! Can’t wait to see how the costume comes out.

With that being said, LET’S GO PHILLIES!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4IHefE3xgY

Oh and GO PHILLIES!!!

I'm so happy yankees lost last night haha I hope no ones a Yankees fan in this blog!

I suck at coming up with interesting titles :-(

Hello Everyone!

Lets talk about this week first before I start writing my actual blog post. This week was pretty busy for me, I was doing research for the Pressure Ulcer section for the cSSSIs resource room and it was pretty intense and those pressure ulcer graphics grossed me out haha. And ofcourse, yesterday was amazing, the workshop was a lot of fun and I'm glad I could be a part of it. I think I learned a lot about my work personality. Also, last night I went to go watch Paranormal Activity (midnight show) but it wasnt thatttt scary. I was scared for the last 20 minutes but it was about Demons and I dont believe in those kinda stuff so I thought it was a little stupid.

So if I met a hospitalist who was not part of SHM, this would be my blurb to him-
"Society of Hospital Medicine is an excellent medical society dedicated to represent high level hospitalists. Its primary motive is to improve quality of hospital medicine and the patients that the hospitalists serve through promoting education and research."

Also, I dont know what I am going to be for Halloween yet! Feel free to give me some ideas please. I am going costume shopping this weekend so hopefully I find something funny yet unique? :-)


Have an awesome weekend! Bob just gave me my paycheck!!! This just makes my day so much betterrr

Kat, I hear you coughing, i hope you feel better :-)

Dear John Stamos,

Please post your overdue post from last week!
Sincerely,
Meredith Megan Myers

Hello friends! Another week at SHM is quickly passing us by. This week our guest bloggers are Ashley and Celisse!

Anyway, this week, I'd like everyone to write a blurb about SHM as if you were describing it prospective members. Think about if you met a hospitalist who was not an SHM member...what would you say to them?

Also, what's everyone being for Halloween?


LET'S GO PHILLIES, TWO YEARS IN A ROW?!

Your Weekly Entertainment

Happy Monday everyone,
Well if I can take a quick second to discuss the weekends events. The Phillies put up an 11 spot last night while Cliff Lee pitched a flawless, completely perfect gem. He is such a workhorse on the mound. He dominates the at bat and I can count on two hands the amount of times he got behind in the count last night. The Eagles, on the other hand, played an absolutely abysmal game, all around the field. The defense could not stop the run and got dominated on the line of scrimmage while the offense seemed to be in a complete haze. They just could not play football on Sunday, plain and simple. Now that im done getting all of the sports out of my system, lets talk SHM.
Its almost been 1 month here and I have to say I feel as though I've accomplished a lot. I've taken on a lot of tasks that have proven to be very challenging and I think I'm handeling them alright. One of the areas I'd like to be more invloved with would be design. I am far behind Kat when it comes to ability but I definitely enjoy creating ad layouts like she does. It's a tough and demanding job and I commend her for what she does. She plows through work everyday, works through lunch, and stays late to meet deadlines. If I had the technical training she had I would love to give her a hand.
So theres my post. Late. Again. I still need to come up with a clever title for it. By the way Halloween is coming up and I need a costume. Any ideas? I was thinking Craig Sager.

I'm Jake Spencer? And you stay classy 5th floor

Its never too late? ;-)

Hey guys,
Sorry I completely forgot to write in the blog. I was too caught up with work. Saying that, I have been really busy and I'm loving it! Its not like few other coops that my friends are doing where they tell me that they just sit around and wait for some work to be given to them. I am actually learning a lot here. There are some days when I don't have a lot to do but the meetings keep me busy. Every meeting I go to, I learn something new and more abotu SHM. I have definitely accomplished a lot in a month's time but I look forward to accomplish more.
I have been working on my next monthly newsletter, and helping Joy and Lauren with resource rooms related research and surveys. Joy told me how Kari is going to have a Young Physicians call and I could be a part of that conference call because it talks about pre-medical students. I think it would be amazing if I could listen because I would like to know what Physicians have to say about pre-med students since I am one myself. So I would definitely like to get more involved with Kari and her project. Also, since SHM has a huge network of Physicians and Health professionals, Ken told me he could help me find a mentor so I think that would be awesome!
I am looking forward to all these amazing opportunities!
Have an amazing week guys! :-)

Lifelong Learner

Well since I am a veteran, I can only share how things have changed over the past month. We have added 4 new people to the group and brought back two of my favs (you're the best CVB).
I can truly say that these additions have helped me to accept change in many ways that I am not used to.

I can for certain say that I have come to grips with the fact that in many cases, change is necessary and that change can be good. For many, change comes with a sense of fear of the unknown, but when you can truly ask yourself what would I do if I was not scared and go for it, you allow yourself to be in the mindset of a lifelong learner.

Just like many Phillies fans were upset when we let go of Pat the bat, we actually picked up a wonderful player in Ibanez and we got to see that change was ok and good.

With that being said....Go Phillies!

short but sweet?

Happy Friday! Another exciting weekend ahead of us with the Phils playing! I just wish it wouldn't rain all weekend :( This is going to be a pretty quick post because I've got tons to do! So I'm going to get right to the questions.. I definitely feel like I've accomplished a lot in a short time...between the HM10, Leadership, Membership, and Development, I've been working on a lot of design projects! I guess for wanting to be more involved in one area, it would be with the web design .. just because I really want to learn web design. I think if I had to pick 1 person to learn more about it would be John! He always mentions how we haven't had a chance to have a 1 on 1 yet and then yesterday I just found out he lived in London for a little while (Jealous!)

Ok have a good weekend everyone, go phillies!!!

Red October

I can’t believe we are already 1 month into co-op…it flew by so fast. Where did all the time go? Yesterday I was a measly freshman eating at the dining hall every day. It's crazy how fast time goes by when you’re having fun!

Anyways, I feel like I have accomplished a very decent amount. I have learned a lot of things that I never would’ve imagined. It’s interesting being an MA because it’s nice to get a feel for a “starting” job, and be trusted with a lot of interesting projects all at the same time. It allows a lot of time for learning and growing. All of the things that I have done so far at SHM have helped me to understand the company more and more. From finding members on iMIS to creating ads and flyers, it’s all been a learning experience, which is one of the main things I want to get from co-op.

I’m a Design & Merchandising major so I would definitely love to get more involved with designing things. It has been really fun creating designs and CB’s for multiple different things. It keeps my creative mind running! I would love to learn more about the creative side to SHM because that is what I am ultimately interested in. Also, I have taken a big interest in different marketing strategies. For instance, how we get people to buy more merchandise or register for the Coding Webinar. It’s a very interesting process and it has a lot to do with my major. So, if anyone needs any help, I’m here!

I hope everyone has a PHANTASTIC weekend and on a more important note…LET’S GO PHILLIES!

Pop it, lock it, polka dot it.

Congratulations newbies, it's been a month!! Time flies when you're having fun. For most of us, we have 5 months to go...seems like no time at all.

That being said:

Do you feel you've accomplished a lot in a short time? What do you wish you could be more involved in? Who, and what, do you want to learn more about (and why)? Any other random reflections are welcome :)

GO PHILLIES!!

First Blog Post - Get Excited!

Thinking back on my college days, I used to say that I work better on my own. Really, in college I would prefer to take on the work of an entire group project by myself. I do better by myself because I can coordinate what I needed to do based on my plans and schedule. I never had to worry about other people procrastinating or not putting in effort. I guess I was more comfortable relying on myself versus relying on other people.

Even though in college I always wanted to work alone, I know now that I do prefer to work in groups for most projects. Not only are there new ideas that I wouldn’t think of, but there are more people to balance the work load. It was a great experience to work in groups in college because you will be working with the same people out in the “real world.” Sometimes you have to trust people that you don’t know really well and motivate them to produce the type of product you want.

I like to work on my own on some projects and for others I like to work in a group. I feel like working alone is great because you control the final product and get to explore all your own ideas. On the other hand you have no outside help. I also like working in groups because I get to hear ideas that I never would have thought of as well as assistance with the work load. A few negative things that come along with group work is trusting your fellow group members to complete their sections to the best of their ability as well as “Group Think.” I know if you are a Drexel marketing student you have learned about group think. This is when individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking are lost in the pursuit of group cohesiveness.
I hope this post is helpful to everyone. I enjoyed reading all of your responses.

PS – Paranormal Activity is not worth $10.50 …. Wait until it comes out on video. GO EAGLES & PHILLIES!

best week ever..

This week flew by! I went to Flyers games Tuesday (they won) Thursday (they lost) and am going on Saturday... when my favorite exflyer Joffrey Lupul will be here!! I love him. Anyway, hopefully the Phils get a win tomorrow in Colorado.. last night was not the best day for philly sports fans! Flyers lost to the penguins (EW) and phillies to the rockies.. boo. The highlight of my night was watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, does anyone else watch it? You should..SO good. Anyway, I don't really know what I'll be doing this weekend besides going to the Flyers game and watching the Phils tomorrow.. as of right now my plans for tonight are to go home and nap!

Ok so to get to the question... I definitely work better by myself. I find it really hard to collaborate with people as a designer.. we had a couple group projects in school... and they were awful. One of our projects was creating an exhibit and model, and I think that term was the most miserable term of my life. A benefit of working in a team is definitely hearing different opinions/adapting to different styles.. but on the other hand the disadvantages are not being able to agree on things and having to work with someone who is stubborn and doesn't listen. (I'm obviously talking about my exhibit group.. not anyone here at SHM!)

Ok have a good weekend everyone, GO PHILLIES AND FLYERS!!!