The document summarizes a presentation about improving communication within the MUSC CARES Clinic. It provides background on the clinic and identifies issues with communication due to its large size and lack of clear roles. Recommendations are made to restructure subcommittees by appointing a liaison, create orientations for new members, and develop a podcast to effectively relay information to busy students. The presentation aims to formalize communication and improve information sharing within the clinic's complex organizational structure.

1. MUSC CARES Clinic
Kelsey Davis, Tim Brown, Ragan LeBlanc,
Kevin Schassler & Alex Stone

2. Today’s Agenda
Provide a brief background about the CARES Clinic
Introduce the problem of communication
Provide an analysis and evaluation of the problem
Present several recommendations to improve
communication
Summarize our findings

3. About CARES
Physical/Occupational/Speech Therapy Clinic
NFP student-run organization founded in 2005
Provides free services to members of the community
Aid and relief to community and educational for students
Over 200 students/faculty/volunteers involved
9 different subcommittees

4. Analysis and Evaluation of Issues
1. Large organization which hinders everyone from
being on the same page
“Too many cooks in the kitchen”
Different perspectives, different problems, different needs
Only manage office twice a semester
2. Job/committee descriptions not clearly defined
Barriers between different professions involved
Difficult to interact in a constructive manner, mostly point fingers

5. Analysis and Evaluation of Issues (cont.)
3. Mode of communicating is substandard
People don’t always read emails
i. Too long then information is overlooked
ii. Too short people don’t understand
Information is selective to specific subcommittee
Moodle page/Google docs has helped
4. Inconsistent relaying of information
Changes to scheduling, processes, policies and procedures
occurs frequently
i. Staff members not aware of changes
Timing of communication

6. Recommendations
1. Restructure subcommittees
2. Develop an orientation and workshop
3. Create a podcast

7. #1: Restructure Subcommittee
Barriers to
Communication
“Too many cooks
in the kitchen”
No clear leader
Overcoming Barriers to
Communication
Reduce the number of
hierarchy levels
Promote organizational
communication through
leadership
Our Recommendation
Have one member
serve as liaison
Appoint MHA as liaison

8. Have one person
serve as liaison
• Instill accountability
and leadership
• Create consistency
Appoint MHA as
liaison
• Capable due to
leadership experience
• Use learned skills
• Assist with efficiency
Restructure Subcommittee Cont.

9. #2: Orientation and Workshop
January: New MHA members
August: New PT and OT members
Both orientations will become standard each year
Immediate workshop to be developed

10. Orientation and Workshop Cont.
Short information session
Chance to recognize leaders within the organization
Create a level of comfortability
Presentation for those unable to attend
Borkowski (2016) recommendations to reduce miscommunication
Understand the audience
Limit jargon use
Decode acronyms
Signed Contract

11. #3: Podcast
According to Lake Superior State University (2016)
65% of the population are visual learners
30% are audio learners
Currently providing important information via email
Not reading emails
Glancing over quickly and not absorbing information
Solution is to include weekly podcast with the emails
Able to listen anywhere
Easy to create with little resources

12. Podcast Cont.
Process Model of Communication
Receiver of a message may not interpret the intended meaning the sender originally wanted to
relay because of “noise”
Noise is anything that interferes with or misstates the message that was being transferred
If information is being relayed through a podcast, the sender may better be able to explain the
information they want the receiver to understand

13. Conclusion
Communication is a crucial part of any organization
Problems arise when there is no formalized way of
communication and a lot of busy students and faculty
MHA student liaison would benefit committees and flow of
communication
Orientations provide quick information and allow people
to meet face to face
Podcast allow busy students to listen to information at
their convenience and stay up to date with
announcements and changes

14. References
Borkowski, N. (2016). Organizational behavior in health care. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
DelliFraine, Jami. (2016). Communication [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Communication.pptx
Lake Superior State University. (2016). What learning style does your student use? Retrieved November 28, 2016, from
https://www.lssu.edu/parents/articles/may2006/learningstyle.php
Longest, B., Rakich, J., and Darr, K. (2002). Managing Health Services Organizations and Systems. Baltimore, MD: Health
Professions Press.