Banana messenger Katherine Choi (clinical innovation
manager of the Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation) brightens the day for cardiology fellow Nosheen Reza.
If you happen to see two bananas walking down a corridor at HUP or in the Perelman Center, you know two things for sure: you’re not hallucinating, and someone is about to receive a message of appreciation – neatly written on a banana’s peel – for a job well done!
This “bananagram,” the brainchild of the Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, offers a unique approach to a tough problem: physician burnout and a lack of easy ways to provide positive feedback in health care settings.
Results from a quick survey of physicians showed that the moments people remembered most during days and weeks filled with a lack of sleep, work fatigue, and stress were the small acts of kindness and appreciation – an attending physician bringing in pints of ice cream for his team during an overnight call, or a high-five from a colleague for a job well done.
Not surprisingly, the initiative has received a rousing thumbs-up. “Honestly, it made me laugh,” said Lisa Bellini, MD, vice dean for Faculty Affairs. “There is usually not too much humor in my day, and it was just such a fun thing.”
Bananagram deliveries only occur during pop-up days. So far the team has had four, during which they delivered messages of gratitude and appreciation to close to 100 employees. The Center alerts followers about upcoming pop-up dates on the Instagram account, and Darragh said other pop ups are in the works.