My Little Consultant Gangs

Most of you know that a huge part of my job is teaching all the new hire classes for my company - the majority of the participants being around-22-year-olds that are fresh out of college. If you know that fact, then you also probably know that even though that role keeps me super busy, on the road a lot of the time, tires me OUT a lot, and just generally keeps me "on my toes"...I love it. I mean, I really, truly love and adore it.

Every person that gets hired and starts working for us, passes through me and my training first...which means I'm one of the most (if not the most) connected people in our whole company. I love that fact. I love that when we go to our company conference in a couple of weeks (Nashville is about to be stormed by 800 fun-loving healthcare consultants), I will be one of the only people who can say hello to pretty much everyone there (and by name!) and have a previous relationship with them. A perfect example of why this is so cool came from our last conference in August...during breakfast before we got started for the day, I went to just grab a quick refill on my coffee (an average night of sleep at our conferences is 2-3 hours, at best), and it took me a full 25 minutes to even get to the coffee bar because every, single table I passed on the way stopped me to say hi, give hugs, etc. Not everyone loves chit-chat and being in a position like that...but I think I was made for it. That's the kind of stuff that keeps my "tank full" even when my schedule is insane, I don't know what time zone I'm in, and I dream about healthcare terminology and hospital key metrics.

And more than that, my job allows me to truly influence people, and have an enormous impact on their experience at our company, their success "out in the field," and their outlook on our industry and the work we do everyday for hospitals. That is so freaking cool, I can barely describe it. I become a combination of teacher/mentor/coach/supporter/friend/disciplinarian (when needed, which is thankfully rare)/cheerleader/outlet/resource/guide for them all. I take that responsibility very seriously. I always feel committed to my classes and doing my very best to set them up for success. I think I'm just lucky that I enjoy every minute of it along the way.

We have 11-12 classes coming through in 2011 (each class being 4 weeks long - I only teach 2 of those 4 though), and I've loved the 2 groups I've had so far. I've made a promise to myself to take more pictures during training, since it's a huge part of my life, and I don't have a lot of photos to show for it (like I do for all the other hijinx I'm constantly involved in!). So here are a few choice shots of my 2011 classes so far....

This is the January 2011 class "graduation" photo on the very last day of training - I try to get one with each group, always in this same spot in the Meadows office. I have a feeling this class will always end up being a special one for me:


February "graduation" shot.....see? Exact same spot. (Notice that I always snag the coveted front and center position in these....eh....I think I earn it)

Sometimes a class and I actually take goofy group photos. I like to think this one is a cross between a soccer team photo and a Christmas card photo (like the fireplace in the background?):
This picture proves that learning about the flow of and decisions made in a hospital emergency department can, in fact, be fun!

I love this shot of some of the guys....QN is being goofy, as always...PP and GP are trying to be too cool for school...and JD and JS look a bit like they're trying to model:

I love the excitement of all the new hires I get to work with...it's contagious. And mix that with my own enthusiasm and love for our jobs and our company? Good times are always had. (And they make me feel younger...which never hurts)

Stay tuned in 2011....hopefully I'll do well and get more photos of all my little consultant "gangs" - which I guess makes me a gang leader...which I sometimes feel a little like with these guys! It's fitting, in some ways.