 To improve efficiency and reduce costs while maintaining quality patient care, hospitals around the world have begun to incorporate the principles of lean thinking, a business methodology that strips the activities of an organization down to those that deliver the greatest value to customers. But in the early stages of adopting lean practices, little is known about the factors that enable or hinder lean from finding a permanent place in a hospital setting. In this study, an in-depth look at the experiences of senior healthcare professionals following a lean training program revealed that support from management, the provision of a continuous learning environment, and cross-departmental cooperation are crucial to the successful implementation of lean practices. Today's healthcare environment can be rather unstable. Many hospitals find themselves strained by a growing patient population while operating under strict budget constraints. The move toward lean practices therefore seems well-suited to meet the needs of the healthcare organization. Through lean training programs, healthcare leaders learn to shift their focus toward efficient, patient-centered operations and making continuous improvements in quality of care. It is not well understood, however, what factors motivate healthcare professionals to put their lessons into practice. In this study, 31 healthcare professionals were interviewed three months after participating in a four-day lean training program. The participants, who held leadership roles in various departments at an academic hospital, were asked what actions they had planned to take to implement lean in the workplace following their training and what factors facilitated or obstructed these actions. Key patterns in the responses were identified and used to determine the most common actions specified by the participants and to what extent they had followed through. The results generally showed that the daily presence of top managers on the work floor is a key factor for the success of lean implementation. The authors of the study suggest that this involvement demonstrates dedication to upholding lean values, which in turn encourages employees to participate in lean. The success of implementing lean actions also depends on how well employees perceive they are able to apply their new knowledge, indicating the need for a continuous learning environment that involves, for example, on the job training. Finally, the authors of the study perceive the reported difficulties in working in a multidisciplinary environment as a call for a more holistic approach to lean. Unlike industry where lean practices have generally aimed to fill roles with just the right personnel to meet predetermined goals, a hospital is an inherently dynamic and social environment where the products of lean practices are not as readily observed or even understood. The authors suggest that leaders focus more on cultivating the meaning of lean than on implementing lean as fact. The researchers admit that any long-term impact of a short intensive lean training program on learning may elude measurement, but they encourage leaders to adopt and promote learning on the job to sustain lean improvements.