Administrators absorb everyone’s stress—physicians, techs, front desk, payers, and vendors—and then make the day’s hardest calls. On high-volume days the brain goes “all cylinders,” emotion gets loud, and priorities blur.  

Here, I will share leader-focused tips for ophthalmic administrators. 

Unclutch the Nervous System

On high-volume days, pause and breathe, and say "I'm choosing priorities, not chasing fire.” This allows your team to receive your judgment, not your adrenaline. 

Ask the “Stop the Practice” Question

What I mean here is to look at your list and ask "If I don't touch this today, what actually stops?" 

Some of the things to look at when considering this are: 

• Flow (template collapse, throughput)
• Safety (medical/surgical risk)
• Revenue (authorization expires, claim denial ticking)
• Compliance (deadline, required documentation, MIPS gate)

If something stops, it’s Now. If not, it’s This Week (calendar it) or Backlog (park it without guilt).  

Broadcast the New Ground Truth in One Sentence

What I mean here is to call a huddle, virtual call, or email if needed. For example, you can communicate this to your team by stating “Prioritizing today: fix MD-2 template, push non-urgent recalls to Thu, fast-track PA #2841—everything else Friday.”

Transparency lowers anxiety of your team and prevents “mystery work.”  

This Isn’t Productivity Theater; It’s Clinical Reliability

Re-grounding keeps surgeons operating, patients moving, teams kinder, and the revenue flowing. If it won't stop the practice today, it can wait. OP  

Mandy Cansler, COMT, COE, LSSGB, is an organizational consultant at Mandy Cansler Consulting, and brings over 2 decades of leadership excellence and clinical expertise in ophthalmology to her consulting practice. As a Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologist (COMT), Certified Ophthalmic Executive (COE), and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), she has a proven record of transforming ophthalmic organizations through strategic guidance, high-performance team development, and process improvement.