Shannon Harris, Hospice Physician Fellowship and Medical Staffing Coordinator

Training the Next Generation of Hospice Clinicians

If Shannon Harris had a mantra, it could be: “Proper planning prevents poor performance.” The message, quoted from another staffer in a VNSNY online profile, is written on a Post It note that Shannon has taped to her computer monitor.

Shannon not only manages all operational aspects of VNSNY’s Hospice Fellowship Training Program but was instrumental in restructuring it as well. The program provides hands-on hospice clinical training and experience for several dozen interdisciplinary clinician fellows (mainly physicians) each year, making it the largest program of its kind in the nation. Shannon also coordinates shorter rotation experiences for Mount Sinai Family Medicine Residents, Columbia University medical students, and other visiting scholars. Her critical support to hospice medical staff and the department at large includes maintaining and distributing the weekly on-call schedule. 

How does Shannon manage all the moving parts? “I’m a list person who’s good at creating systems and protocol,” she says. “I work from the outside in, looking at the broad picture to determine the checks and balances required to implement whatever needs to get done.” It’s not just her arsenal of Excel sheets, calendars and schedules and general attention to detail that keep her on top of things, she adds. “It’s about being fully committed and taking ownership, knowing how to work with people from different departments…and having a sense of humor!”

“Shannon brings a high level of skill, expertise, and professionalism into every aspect of her work,” notes one of her nominating letters. “She is extremely proactive, always looking for ways to improve departmental practices and ensuring that others are able to focus on their own specialties.” Another colleague wrote, “Not only have the fellows been very satisfied with Shannon’s work, we get great reviews from the outside program directors and internal stakeholders.” She is also credited with taking the fellowship program “to new heights” and doing everything “with a great smile.”

As if her day job weren’t demanding enough, Shannon is also a working screen and stage actor—an arena she says has a lot in common with her work at VNSNY. “In each area, you have to learn to navigate and negotiate relationships, and you’re working with an ensemble,” she says. “I apply my strengths as an artist in my work at VNSNY, and vice versa—from managerial skills to people skills.”