OBGYN.net is back home for the summer!
Roberta addresses plans for streamlining operations at OBGYN.net World Headquarters

July 31, 1998

Hello OBGYN.netters,

Whew! What a busy two months it has been for me and Bruce. Between ACOG in New Orleans, OEGGG in Austria, and WCE in Quebec City we have been on the road, or getting ready to go on the road, or unpacking from being on the road constantly. It has certainly been wonderful to have the opportunity to meet so many friends new and old and get their feedback. I must admit however I'm glad to be back in my office with no travel arrangements to book, no planes to catch, and no luggage to lose.

It is time, as I pointed out in my last Roberta's Ramblings to do some long overdue spring cleaning.

OBGYN.net Editor Barbara and I are having meetings every few days to finally write the "OBGYN.net Handbook" we have been carrying around in our heads for years now. What is it we do and how do we do it kind of stuff. It is time to get it all on paper (or in computer files to be accurate) so that we can streamline the processes we use to update OBGYN.net every week. The fact that we now have five OBGYN.net special sections: Alternatives to Hysterectomy, Ultrasound, Hysteroscopy, Endometriosis and Osteoporosis means we are always juggling schedules to deliver the best information in the best and most appropriate format. The more we try to accomplish at OBGYN.net in meeting these goals the more obviously important it becomes to institute protocols for doing it.

We also have been asking ourselves, "What about the personal touch? That's certainly a huge part of what makes OBGYN.net so special." If we didn't stay in constant communication with the women, sponsors, and medical professionals that are the life's blood of OBGYN.net we would cease to be the great resource we are to the Ob/Gyn global community. So that is the constant juggling act. To streamline operations for efficiency while still treating every person involved as a special and unique individual...because they are.

It makes me keenly aware of the similar dilemma that faces the OBGYN.net physicians and medical professionals in their never ending struggle to provide the highest quality care to their patients while still making their practices an economic success. Because, no matter how good a job you are doing for your patients if the practice is not economically sound you soon won't be around for them at all.

This dilemma also applies to the working mothers that have to juggle the career with the mommy stuff and try being good at both even though they appear on the surface to be at complete odds with each other. How to balance providing for our children's educational and economic needs while still being there for them on a day to day basis is a constant challenge.

While writing this article I suddenly remembered awhile back I wrote a Ramblings about just this sort of problem called, Projects vs Processes or "Are We There Yet?". I think I just tool over and see if I said anything coherent that I might want to consider or even reconsider...

Oh, what a wise woman I am...and so witty too! My, but I never cease to amaze myself with the gratuitous crap I can churn out week in and week out! But seriously, I think I will take my own advice about lowering ones expectations and explore it on a more serious level (please don't fall asleep, there will be a test ;-)

I need to find a satisfactory way to lower my expectations of what OBGYN.net can accomplish without lowering the quality of what we do.

In the race to balance quality with quantity, the human aspect with the business model, I will always be a runner as long as I'm in the race at all. It is certainly important to try to balance the two, but when I err and the scales tip I want it to be on the side of humanity.

This may mean that at times I or OBGYN.net won't move forward as fast as someone else would that tipped their scales more often on the side of streamlining operations. So be it. That is how it must be.

OBGYN.net has evolved over the last two years and living through that process has taught me things that I never could have guessed at. One major lesson has been that what we really excel at is providing information for what I call "Heavy Duty" conditions. There are many places on the Internet catering to the needs of women having babies, healthy lifestyles, and basic problems (I get a little grouchy during my period). That is wonderful and certainly needed but we have found a special place where we shine. OBGYN.net is so special because we deal with really serious problems with support, humor, compassion, and solid information.

With problems like endometriosis (I curl up in the fetal position from pain during my period), infertility, chronic miscarriage, cancer, osteoporosis, surgery and uterine prolapse there is no easy answers or quick fix. But, by bringing together the people that suffer from these conditions, the medical professionals that treat them and the companies that develop the products used we just may be able to do some lasting good.

"So", you may be asking yourself, "What does this have to do with quality, quantity, the eternal balancing act, or whatever the hell it was you were talking about Roberta?"

The tie in is this:

If OBGYN.net really excels at delivering services connected with chronic conditions then what does that mean? People dealing with chronic conditions, or trying to treat them, need more personalized attention. That's just the way it is. Streamlining operations to the point of quick expansion is not what's important. Being in the race is what's important. We're like the water carrier. We're never going to win the race. Our job is to help others stay in the race who just may win it.

So are eyes are set this summer on the goal of streamlining the nuts and bolts information delivery systems so that Barbara and I have more time to interact on a one on one basis with the women, physicians, organizations and associations that need OBGYN.net and that we need to be involved in OBGYN.net. That these goals are accomplished one day at a time and one person at a time is just intrinsic to the service we provide.

Well that's the news from OBGYN.net World Headquarters where all the women are strong, all the sponsors are good looking and all the physicians are above average!

Fondly,
Roberta

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If you have any interesting news, ideas, or questions you would like to share please drop me a line at roberta.speyer@obgyn.net.

7/13/98

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