As much as we love our gadgets, apps, and surgical tools, the field of medicine has always been about one thing: the people. As retina specialists, we are here to care for our patients and do everything we can to preserve their vison. And regardless of our talents as clinicians and surgeons, we cannot provide the best care without the help of many other people: front-office staff, billing and coding teams, technicians, nurses, scribes, schedulers, OR managers, etc. We rely on the expertise of others so that we can focus on the medicine and the patient in the chair. When we find ourselves searching for a new team member, a lot is riding on making the right decision.
We work in a highly specialized field, and finding the right talent to lead our offices and ORs can be a significant challenge. That’s why many of us consider hiring from within; we know the techs who go above and beyond, and we recognize leadership skills when we see them.
Not only that, but promoting from within can save money (eg, internal hires cost 18% less than external hires) and boost employee retention (eg, external hires are 21% more likely to leave within 1 year, and employees stay 41% longer at companies that promote internal hiring).1 Despite these benefits, only 24% of all hires in the United States were internal in 2023 (down from 40% in 2020), one of the lowest rates in years.2
But when we promote a deserving employee, it’s not always sunshine and roses. There will be growing pains along the way, and it may even put the new manager in a difficult position with other staff, adding strain to what should be a cohesive team. If you put the right person in the right seat, a little training and patience should set your office up for success.
In this issue, Duke Eye Center administrators Lee Ann McKinney, COT, OSC, and Valerie Honeycutt, COT, share their tips to help your new manager smoothly take charge while maintaining a positive work culture. They explain how new managers can set clear expectations, hold employees accountable, and navigate internal team dynamics. Throughout the article, you will notice that clear and consistent communication with each team member seems to be the key.
If you already have a rock star office manager, we have a few other articles to help improve your business acumen. Nikisha Kothari, MD, discusses important steps to take when training scribes, and David Mandell, JD, MBA, offers tips for financial success, such as leveraging your retirement planning and secondary income sources. For coding resources, head to the main Retina Today issue to read about the coding rules surrounding the transfer of care.
Armed with these tips and tricks, you can head back into the office ready to reconnect with your team and elevate staff who are deserving so that you can do what you do best: care for your patients.
- Alan J. Ruby, MD
1. Internal hire rate: what it is, why use it and how to calculate it. Lytiqs. Accessed April 28, 2025. www.lytiqs.com/post/internal-hire-rate
2. Internal hiring boosts retention and saves money, yet has slumped post pandemic new research finds [press release]. AMS. September 13, 2023. Accessed April 28, 2025. www.weareams.com/news/internal-hiring-boosts-retention-and-saves-money-yet-has-slumped-post-pandemic-new-research-finds
