Scott Lisbin ’77, a retired healthcare executive and author of the award-winning book Applying Lean Six Sigma in the Healthcare Setting, returned to Pomona College this spring to provide students with hands-on experience streamlining productivity in a local hospital.
His public policy analysis course, Achieving World Class Medical Care Through Lean Six Sigma, covered how statistics, risk analysis, measurement theory, research and methodology can be applied to public organizations and nonprofits generally and to healthcare specifically.
The class was made possible through Return to Pomona, a program that brings talented alumni across myriad fields back to campus to cultivate relationships with current students, faculty and staff.
“One of my teaching goals was to provide value to students no matter what career they pursue,” Lisbin says. “I also wanted to convey some of the things I learned over almost 40 years in healthcare to the upcoming generation so hopefully they’ll be able to make healthcare more affordable and safer and provide better outcomes.”
In a healthcare setting, Lean Six Sigma principles eliminate waste to improve access, quality, safety, service and affordability, Lisbin says.
A believer of learning by doing, Lisbin partnered with Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center to place students in areas of the 427-bed acute care hospital responsible for hygiene, nutrition, housekeeping, labs and storage.
“I wanted students to understand that while every role in the hospital may not sound important, they are important and should not be minimized,” Lisbin says.
Morgan Lewden ’28, a rising junior from France, assisted the Environmental Services (EVS) Department with patient discharge and room cleaning.
A neuroscience major interested in pediatric cardiology, Lewden says the course’s hands-on experience gave her an appreciation for “what goes on behind the scenes to make the whole hospital run.”
“Getting exposure to the workplace this early (in college) was very valuable,” she adds.
Lisbin surveyed his students toward the end of the semester and found they gained a better understanding of the complexity of hospitals and their workflow.
He says they also learned how to deal with differences in people’s priorities, needs and concerns; what it was like to work in a professional environment; and how to be more flexible and assertive when needed.
While his students developed and burnished those competencies in a healthcare setting, Lisbin says such practical skills can be applied to any industry.
“If a student goes into finance or government or construction,” he adds, “these same principles and tools can be applied there.”
“The project was challenging for many of the students, but thanks to the administrators and staff at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, their assignment proved to be an invaluable learning experience.”