Staff Award for Excellence - Susan Patrell

Susan Patrell with husband Joe; step son Joe (left) and son Charlie (right)

Administrative Assistant Senior - Division of General Medicine

Nominator, Char Prichard -  "Susan has shared a lot of knowledge of the division with those around her and has made significant and lasting changes. Susan continues to perform high quality work with little supervision, even with her ever changing workload and demands. I greatly appreciate Susan's dedication and presence in the division. I also appreciate the fact that she displays positive enthusiasm whenever possible and is always willing to help others. Susan is a great asset to the division of general medicine, and we are very fortunate to continue to have her as part of our team." 

Work Performance

Susan first joined the Division of General Medicine in November of 2000. She started as a research secretary supporting our research faculty and was promoted up the ranks throughout her years in the division and in 2008 she was promoted to an Administrative Assistant Senior supporting our division chief and administrator. She is a highly valuable and dedicated employee and has served in an exemplary role in the division throughout her tenure in the division. Susan continues to be the go-to person in the division for assistance and is always willing to help everyone when asked.

Despite Susan's busy workload she consistently remains very efficient in her work and is able to juggle the multiple demands of the ever changing priorities. Susan is very good at prioritizing and taking responsibility for her work. She is always willing to assist others with their needs and often goes above and beyond when it comes to customers and her team mates.

Susan leads and assists with onboarding five-10 faculty each year seamlessly, manages all division computer/tracking, coordinated the faculty evaluation process with all admins, effectively manages our division conferences, ensures our faculty and staff lists are kept up-to-date, manages our division database, and serves as a highly functioning admin within our team providing a high level support to senior leadership. 

Leadership

Susan has a wealth of knowledge and offers a broad scope and view of divisional process and workflow. She has grown into a leadership role amongst the other admins and also with our faculty during her 14 year tenure as the division administrative assistant. Susan took it upon herself to be the lead admin managing our faculty evaluations for both the clinical and instructional track faculty. She keeps the division and leadership on track and helps to guide the other admins in working with their faculty to accurately complete these forms throughout the entire process. 
 
Susan also has taken a leadership role with the other admins on a daily basis acting as a mentor for new hires and she is instrumental in their training process. She proactively places orders for new faculty/staff starting within the division and has also put into place a great tracking system to ensure equipment is returned upon departure. Susan has taken ownership of the recruitment of new faculty in setting up their itineraries and ensuring their visits are flawless. Susan also plays a key leadership role in their onboarding in ensuring they have everything they need to start on time (computer, white coats, pager, etc.). She independently takes the lead on this while troubleshooting during the process, all while still trying to do things in a better more efficient way.

Customer Service

The Division of General Medicine is very large and we have a significant number of customers walking into Susan’s office needing to meet with the division chief. She realizes how important customer service is to everyone she interacts with and she always goes above and beyond to assist others. As an example, even though we do not work in a clinical area we often get phone calls from patients who have been transferred to us by mistake. Susan always takes the time to gather the details and ensures that the patient gets the information they are looking for and ensures she not only transfers them to the correct number, she makes them feel better and she empathizes with their situation. This is true testament to her stellar customer service. I greatly appreciate her good nature and her drive to find a way to get it all done.

Susan will also help anyone who needs assistance. Being in the front division office, she receives many phone calls and interruptions and she is always willing to go out of her way to problem solve and assist. She also does her very best in coordinating the many activities of senior leadership, has filled in for staff vacancies, has proactively raised issues of concern (e.g., scheduling conflicts, reporting requirements) and has been willing to take on assignments that are atypical. I really appreciate Susan's commitment to customer service in the division. I also appreciate the fact that she is working to display positive enthusiasm whenever possible. Susan is a great asset to the division of general medicine, and we are fortunate to have her as part of our team.

Process Improvement

Susan has a longstanding and solid knowledge base and experience which greatly benefits the division and admin team by dedicating her effort towards continuous operational and process improvement. She is in a unique position that lends to continuous review of recurring processes and she thinks through each process she encounters as a potential opportunity for improvement to be more efficient. I appreciate Susan’s support and knowledge on the people and evolution of operational process in the division. She openly dialogues on how things have worked which helps immensely as we think about and implement process improvement opportunities.

Susan works hard to be the best at what she does and I value her questions as we work through processes. As mentioned above, she was instrumental in her contributions to improving our faculty evaluation process and has also written up these processes for others to follow. She also took the initiative and time write up processes on our clinical and instructional recruitment visits and continues to evaluate these on an annual basis.

Susan has made significant and standing changes in her contributions to process improvement during her time serving as the division admin.