A Day in the Life of an Administrator: Scott Smallwood

Many hands working together, shoulder to shoulder, is what keeps you coming back.

Welcome to A Day in the Life of an Administrator, our online column, where we sat down with Scott Smallwood, RN, clinical director for Bend (Ore.) Surgery Center. Outpatient Surgery Magazine is posting these profiles to give the administrators, directors and other leaders in ambulatory facilities a voice — and to share, in their own words, what it’s like to walk in their shoes. Their stories offer a glimpse into the significant role these individuals play on the OR team and the challenges they face as they work alongside their colleagues.

Outpatient Surgery Magazine (OSM): What was the most challenging experience you’ve ever encountered as a provider or a leader?
Scott Smallwood (SS): Covid, of course, was challenging for everyone personally and professionally. Flexibility, adaptability and resilience were a must in that time of constant change. Supporting staff and their personal, emotional, safety and financial concerns in a position of leadership was extremely demanding.

OSM: What is the most memorable comment a patient ever made?
SS: Well, I had a family member who said they’d shoot me if they had a gun. That’s memorable! A general theme from our patients, though, is appreciation and thanks for the care, kindness, friendliness and professionalism they received while in the care of our staff.

OSM: How do you separate your work life from your home/personal life?
SS: I have one phone that acts as my personal and my work phone, but even if I had two phones, I would always answer any call that comes to the work phone. Separating work and personal life has proved challenging in the past — with calls, texts and alerts all hours of the day and or night. We have an improved leadership staffing model in place now where the demands and allocation of those calls are better distributed. Because of these leadership changes, my personal time has fewer work-related interruptions.

OSM: What makes a successful work event (holiday party, outside gathering, etc.) and do you have any memorable stories from any you've attended?
SS: What makes a successful outside work event is having successful working relationships in the workplace. If staff get along well at work, watch out, they are going to have a lot of fun together outside of work. If asked what I like best about working at Bend Surgery Center, I will always say the way staff like one another. I love that the staff enjoy their teammates. I hear kindnesses expressed, friendliness displayed and laughter among the team members all the time. Everyone works happily together to get to the end of the day. Coaching or disciplining behavior issues exhausting and taxing, and and weighs on a leader; on the other hand, coaching clinical skill improvements of workers with positive attitudes is a joy.

OSM: Who was the most influential mentor in your career and why?
SS: My older sister. In many ways, I shadowed or mimicked the paths of her career in nursing. She became a nurse before I did, and she has been supportive as a sounding board and a guide to a fulfilling career of nursing and leadership.

OSM: Finish this sentence: A good day at my center is...
SS: A day that patients recognize they have been well cared for. It’s when surgeons and anesthesiologists have been well-supported by the staff, and in turn recognize staff for a job well done. It’s when leadership supports staff, and staff support one another. The day can be hard but many hands working together shoulder to shoulder with positive attitudes about the work, and about one another, keeps me coming back for more.

Note: Outpatient Surgery Magazine would like to thank Scott for sharing his life with us! On behalf of our team, we are sending a small token of appreciation to Scott and his OR team. If you are an administrator, director or any type of OR leader and would like to share your day and special insights for this online exclusive column, please contact our Editor-in-Chief Jared Bilski at [email protected]. Have a great day! OSM