At Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, physician-parents were often unable to leave on time because their last complex patient case was scheduled at 4:30 p.m. In many instances, this patient would not be ready to see for the physician until 4:45, making it extremely challenging for the physician to leave on time to pick up a child from daycare by 5:30. This was creating high stress for these physicians. To address this challenge, the end-of-day schedule was re-engineered so the last complex patient was scheduled at 4:00 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m. The appointment slot at 4:30 p.m. was changed to routine care instead of complex. This simple scheduling change helped parents leave work on time.
The general internal medicine department also took steps to improve the physical environment by investing in new carpeting and asking staff to contribute ideas for locally sourced art. The result was transformation in which everyone was invested. Satisfaction in the department increased from 65 percent to 83 percent in a single year, while burnout decreased from 39 percent to 17 percent over the same period.