Happy New Year to the diplomate community of the American Board of Ophthalmology. We wish you another successful year of advancing excellence in eye care.
Did you make any resolutions today? According to researchers, just 8% of individuals who make New Year's Resolutions go on to achieve them. So what are 92% of us forgetting?
To find out, Forbes interviewed psychologist Paul Marciano, PhD, author of Carrots and Sticks Don't Work, who offered seven tips for creating successful resolutions in the New Year. The top three are summarized below. (Many of his tips will sound familiar to any diplomate who has ever worked on a practice improvement project!)
1. Set specific goals. Employ the SMART method when creating goals (make them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.)
2. Measure your progress. Once you've created a goal that can be measured, be sure to track your progress over time. "If you can measure it, you can change it," Marciano says.
3. Give it time. Progress isn't always linear, and making lasting changes takes time.
Click here to read the full list.
What's on your list of professional goals for 2017? Tell us in the comments below or email communications@abop.org. To spark ideas for ways you can improve your practice in the New Year, visit the Practice Improvement Activity tab on the ABO website. There, you'll find a library of successfully implemented practice improvement projects, along with instructions on how you can use your EHRs, IRIS Registry data, or patient surveys to improve the quality of your practice this year.