Bill Klaproth (Host): Welcome to the ASHRM podcast, made possible by the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management to support efforts to advance, safe and trusted healthcare through enterprise risk management. You can visit ASHRM.org/membership to learn more and to become an ASHRM member.

I'm Bill Klaproth. And with me is Deena Berry, Assistant Director, Risk Management at UC San Diego Health, as we talk about ASHRM designation. Deena, welcome.

Deena Berry: Hey, Bill. Thanks for having me.

Host: It's great to talk with you. Thank you for being here. So first off, tell us a little bit about your journey in healthcare risk management.

Deena Berry: Absolutely. My journey into healthcare risk management really evolved from a broader foundation in legal, that I started in legal over 25 years ago. And then, over time, I ended up working in a hospital and actually went back to legal, and then decided that I really liked it in the hospital. It's quick moving, and you're learning things on a constant basis. And so, I went back into working at the hospital and I started back in medical staff operations. And that landed me into risk management as an analyst. And once I landed there, I really enjoyed the bridge between legal and working in healthcare. And I kind of found my niche in risk management. And so, it's that intersection of patient safety, regulatory, organizational strategies. We're also looking at claims and incidents, again, tying in my legal, experience, and then working towards creating proactive systems in healthcare to reduce the risk.

So. today, I'm currently working at, as you mentioned, UC San Diego Health. And we are continuing to build programs that not only respond to risk, but also help to prevent harm to our patients before it occurs. And so, that evolution going from that traditional reactive to now the proactive risk leadership has really been instrumental in my journey.

Host: It sounds like you're cut out for this, Deena.

Deena Berry: Yes, I am. This is probably the perfect role for me. It is not for the faint of heart, but I am not that person.

Host: Well, it's interesting you started in legal, what a great background to have. Then, went to a hospital, went back to legal, then back to the hospital again, where you started in medical staff operations, which really then was kind of your roadway into risk management. So, really interesting backstory. So, thank you for sharing that with us, Deena. We appreciate it. So then, what led you to want to submit for the FASHRM designation?

Deena Berry: So, pursuing the FASHRM designation was really about professional growth and accountability to the field. I've always believed as leaders, we should continuously challenge ourselves to elevate our practice, not just within our organizations, but across the profession. The designation represents a commitment to advancing healthcare risk management through leadership, scholarship, and service. So, it was a moment for me to reflect on work that I've done and to actually formalize the contribution in a meaningful way. So, not just about achieving the designation specifically, but also aligning with a community of professionals who really are shaping the future of the risk management field.

Host: So, I love how you say that a professional growth and accountability. You are looking to stretch for that a little bit and then challenge yourself. That's really interesting.

Deena Berry: I definitely think a lot of work that risk does. It goes unnoticed sometimes. And so, it's nice to be able to really take a lot of the work that we do and actually be recognized amongst our peers, right? Because amongst the peers, we know what each other goes through on a day-to-day basis. And so, being able to pursue this designation was definitely an achievement for me.

Host: Yeah. Is that why it was important to you? Because you really wanted to challenge yourself And then, as you say, achieve the designation. It sounds like that was very important to you. Why is it so important to you?

Deena Berry: The designation is important because it represents more than my experience. It also reflects impact. So, how as an individual do I impact the risk management profession? And how can I help grow others that are coming up? Learn from those that have come in before me and actually contribute.

So overall, it was a way for me to ensure that I'm contributing, and advancing the profession through whether it be leadership, it's education, innovation. And also, professionally, it lends credibility to my work. Not just through the organizations that I work for, but in spaces and places where I provide consulting or I'm also providing education to upcoming healthcare administration leaders that through Cal State Long Beach, I actually have started lecturing there, and they've added on the risk management courses as part of the healthcare administration program, which is allowing me to teach, in addition to the work that I do at UCSD.

Host: Yeah. So, it sounds like this wasn't all about your own personal growth. You wanted this to reflect the impact that you can have on the profession and help others grow. I think that's really a worthy reason and a why behind wanting to do this.

Deena Berry: Absolutely.

Host: Yeah, that's really interesting. I mean, your concern or your care and passion for the industry of wanting to grow within it to help others, I think, is very admirable. So, Deena, what are some of the leadership publishing or lecturing activities that you have done to support the designation?

Deena Berry: Over the span of my career, I've really been intentional about contributing in different ways. from a leadership perspective. I've chaired committees within the organizations, whether it be, you know, our risk management, our patient experience. I've done quality committees, safety culture committees, and then also been involved in a lot of operational improvement.

In terms of publishing, I co-authored one of the chapters in the ASHRM Medical Office Risk Management Playbook, which focused on incident reporting and regulatory and medical board reporting, which are topics critical, especially in our ambulatory care settings. I find that a lot of our ambulatory care clinics don't necessarily have the same experience with risk management as our hospitals do. And over time, now I've worked in ambulatory care settings, along with acute care settings, and I really find that our ambulatory care sometimes gets a little bit left out. So, it was a great opportunity for me to actually be able to co-author in the ASHRM Medical Office Risk Management Playbook.

So, in addition, I've been able to speak at the ASHRM Annual Conference on creating safe environments and ambulatory care. And as I stated, I've been teaching now, since the beginning of this year, at Cal State Long Beach through the healthcare administration program there related to all things risk management and patient safety.

Host: You have a lot going on.

Deena Berry: Yes, I'm quite busy.

Host: You have a lot on the plate. So Deena, for someone listening to this, what advice do you have for that person that may be considering submitting for the FASHRM designation?

Deena Berry: My biggest piece of advice is to start before you feel ready, meaning take a look at what is required for a FASHRM designation. Because once I actually went over, took a moment to review and see what the criteria were for that designation, I realized that I was doing a lot more and actually could apply for that a lot sooner than I anticipated.

So, I definitely would look at it and start looking at the work that you've done over the span of your career to see, do you qualify? And if not, what are you missing? Because I'm pretty sure you can accomplish it rather quickly in the space that, for risk management leaders, we have the ability to complete those things rather quickly.

So, a lot of us are completing work that aligns with the FASHRM designation. But just taking a step back and assessing their contributions, I'd also recommend being intentional, moving forward to seek out opportunities to present, publish, mentor or even lead initiatives. These experiences strengthen your application. But also, it deepens your impact to your community, community locally with maybe the risk management teams that are local to your community as well as it bridges impact with your peers. So, those that are also working in the same field.

Host: So, start before you're ready. That is great advice. Because if you wait, right, you might never feel ready. So, start before you feel ready. I love how you said that, Deena. That's really important. And also, be intentional, as you said. Work towards presenting, become a mentor, and all of those things can really help deepen your impact, which obviously is very important to you and very important to the industry as well.

Deena, this has been great. Thank you so much for spending some time with us today. We appreciate it.

Deena Berry: Thank you for having me today.

Host: You bet. And once again, That is Deena Berry. And for more information about the FASHRM designation, just go to ASHRM.org/FASHRM-designation. And the ASHRM Podcast was made possible by the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management to support efforts to advance, safe and trusted healthcare through enterprise risk management.

And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks for listening.