Thomas Muha
Dr. Tom Muha is an organizational psychologist with a passion for helping healthcare organizations make dramatic improvements in area patient safety, HCAHPS, staff engagement and retention, and cost containment. Drawing from the science of optimal functioning - Positive Psychology - Dr. Muha has developed the PROPEL performance improvement program. He has worked with R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Children's National Hospital and many other healthcare organizations.
Biography
Dr. Tom Muha is a psychologist with over 30 years of experience in delivering evidence-based coaching to individuals and teams who are seeking proven methods for achieving higher levels of personal wellbeing and professional performance.As the science of optimal human functioning has emerged, Dr. Muha has become a leading practitioner of Positive Psychology. He has been at the forefront in the study of how people involved in healthcare systems can achieve the highest levels of success and satisfaction.
His research has enabled Dr. Muha to develop the PROPEL Principles©. This program teaches people to apply six Positive Psychology principles – Passion, Relationships, Optimism, Proactivity, Energy, and Legacy – in order to achieve remarkable results. His forthcoming book, PROPEL to Quality Healthcare, provides a proven six step formula for improving patient care, staff engagement and the bottom line.
Teaching people to use the PROPEL positive psychology principles has been shown to significantly enhance life satisfaction, loving relationships, job engagement and team effectiveness. PROPEL coaching enables people to learn how to reignite passion, create collaborative relationships, rekindle optimism, develop strengths, replenish energy, and leave a meaningful legacy.
Dr. Muha has been a keynote speaker and workshop presenter at some of the world’s top healthcare organizations, including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the Magnet Recognition Program’s Pathways to Excellence, and HeathStream’s People in Healthcare Summit.
Dr. Muha received his Doctoral degree in Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in 1977. He is the Director of The PROPEL Institute, LLC. He has written a weekly newspaper column focusing on Positive Psychology for the Capital Gazette newspaper chain for over 28 years.
Education
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Ph.D.
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Dr Muha's team has used PROPEL with 85 units, clinics and teams - resulting, over 12 years of research, in significant and sustained improvements in patient safety and satisfaction, staff engagement and retention, cost containment and increased revenue. Leadership coaching and interdisciplinary team coaching created a high performing and healthy workplace culture. Staff also learned how to maintain a high level of personal wellbeing in order to beat burnout, reduce turnover, and enable people to be at their best.
Personal Interests
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Dr. Muha spends a lot of his money on sailboats and fine wine. The rest he pretty much squanders.
Books
Articles
Using Positive Psychology to Engage Your Staff During Difficult Times
Published: Jan 15, 2010 by Nurse Leader
Authors: Thomas Muha, Jo Manion
Subjects:
Business & Management, Healthcare
There is a perfect storm brewing in healthcare. There is considerable stress for healthcare systems and their employees. In addition, healthcare executives must contend with the shortage of nurses who will be needed to take care of an aging population. To fill those vacancies, leaders need to recruit and retain young people, who tend to have different expectations of how they will be treated in the workplace than the previous generation of nurses.
Videos
Published: Jul 28, 2017
PROPEL Teaches people to use 6 positive psychology principles to perform at their best personally and professionally. This is important to people working in healthcare where the burnoute rate is 50%.