Why a Hospital Executive Traded Her Desk for 12-Hour ER Shifts

A Leadership Pivot During the Pandemic

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Linda Matzigkeit, the chief administrative officer at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, found herself grappling with a sense of helplessness. As the hospital faced a rapid turnover of clinical staff—many of whom were parents navigating the challenges of remote schooling—Matzigkeit decided that the most effective way to support her team was to join them on the front lines.

Seeking a practical way to contribute, she consulted with colleagues who suggested that becoming an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) was the most efficient path to clinical involvement. Despite her high-ranking executive position, Matzigkeit committed to the rigorous training process, which required balancing her administrative duties with two nights of schooling per week and weekend training shifts in ambulances and emergency departments.

The Reality of Front-Line Training

For six months, Matzigkeit kept her executive background largely under wraps. She aimed to be treated like any other student, wanting to ensure her commitment was taken seriously. The coursework proved to be significantly more demanding than she had anticipated. She recalls an instructor eventually noting her perfectionist tendencies, reminding her that there was no “valedictorian” in an EMT course.

Upon earning her national certification, Matzigkeit underwent 100 hours of orientation at the very hospital she helps manage. Throughout her shifts, which she treated as a form of volunteer service since she remained on her standard executive salary, she performed essential tasks such as starting IVs, inserting catheters, and providing comfort to anxious parents. These experiences provided her with a firsthand look at the intense, fast-paced environment her staff navigated daily.

Rethinking Internal Communication

One of the most significant outcomes of Matzigkeit’s time in the emergency department was a fundamental shift in how she approached leadership communication. Before working on the floor, she relied heavily on email to disseminate information, operating under the assumption that staff were reading her messages. Her time in the ER revealed a stark reality: clinical staff are rarely stationary long enough to check their inboxes.

Recognizing the disconnect, Matzigkeit spearheaded changes to the hospital’s communication strategy. The institution introduced a mobile-friendly internal tool designed to deliver quick, social-media-style updates directly to staff phones. Furthermore, she began providing concise talking points for the daily, face-to-face huddles that occur at the start of shifts, acknowledging that direct, verbal communication is far more effective in a high-pressure clinical setting than digital correspondence.

A Humbling Experience

Reflecting on her journey, Matzigkeit describes the experience as both humbling and empowering. While she acknowledges that she will never reach the level of proficiency of the full-time staff who work in the ER daily, she continues to aim for monthly shifts to maintain her connection to the front lines. She credits the experience with proving to herself that she can set ambitious goals and execute them, a lesson she hopes to pass on to others who express an interest in pursuing similar paths. By bridging the gap between the boardroom and the emergency room, Matzigkeit has sought to foster a more responsive and understanding leadership culture at her hospital.

Source: businessinsider.com