Interest in the Profession and Satisfaction:

Key Themes:

Interest in the Profession and Satisfaction:

“Managers have high interest in the healthcare profession and derive significant satisfaction from their roles.” (Buchbinder & Thompson, Pg. 196, 2010) Most healthcare managers were once in the clinical role, as medical assistants, nurses, doctors, or something else. Part of what makes them successful managers is that they’ve experienced things from a different perspective within the clinical setting, so they are familiar with how things work, and can often give better ideas on how things should be run. “Job satisfaction is indispensable in the daily life of the workforce, and the mechanism that drives job satisfaction requires the attention of the management of corporate organizations.” (Freitag, et al., 2022)

Role of Mentors:

“Mentors are role models who also act as guides for students’ personal and professional development over time.” (Henry-Noel, et al., 2019) Typically, each healthcare manager has someone who has helped them succeed in their position. This could be anything from suggesting they would be good at a healthcare manager position, training them for the position once it has been obtained, sometimes even being there as a second opinion or someone to bounce ideas off of once they have already successfully become a healthcare manager. Mentors are important because they are there for you to fall back on when you need additional assistance or expertise in situations. Mentors can be there for professional help and can also be there for people when they seek personal assistance. Having someone to talk to, when you are unsure, or stressed, is a good way to manage your thoughts and come out on the other end with results.

Variation in Preparation, Experiences, and Roles:

“There are different paths to the type of career in healthcare management that you may desire.” (Buchbinder & Thompson, Pg. 198, 2010) Some people such as I, start by volunteering in a healthcare facility, or running EMS on an ambulance. Volunteering is helpful to the staff at the facility, and beneficial in helping you to decide if a career in healthcare is something you want to pursue. As a volunteer you can see the different areas of the facility, the different jobs that people hold, and what those jobs entail. Sometimes, seeing what goes on in a facility as an outsider is enough to help you recognize what needs to be done to better the facility, and the push some people need to pursue healthcare management so that they can make a difference for the future.

Challenges Faced by Healthcare Managers:

There are, unfortunately, several challenges that healthcare managers must face in their daily lives. Managers must oversee other employees, and make sure they are doing their jobs effectively and efficiently. In doing so, it is also their responsibility to make sure they are getting their hours that they are scheduled for. Managing productivity is a large part of being a healthcare manager. You must make sure you have enough staff each day to safely take care of patients, but also not too many people on the clock to where it becomes counter-productive to the checks and balances portion of being a manager. You must make sure that your staff are happy, otherwise you must deal with staff turnover, and try to hire qualified personnel to replace the ones you’ve lost. Healthcare managers must deal with insurance companies, both on the staff side and the patient side. They also must deal with the rules and regulations of the hospital. They must make sure they follow appropriate steps to ensure quality, but also safety with every procedure and treatment that is provided. “Safety standards and compliance regulations are always changing in the healthcare industry and it’s important to stay on top of the ever-changing regulatory landscape.” (Brenner, 2021)

Growth and Changes

Long Term Care, Elder Care, and Geriatrics:

With the baby boomers getting to the age where they may no longer be able to care for themselves, there will be more people looking for care and assistance. It has been suggested that healthcare managers not only be part of hospital settings and outpatient doctors’ offices, but also become part of facilities such as hospice, assisted living facilities and nursing homes. Having someone with experience and expertise would likely be helpful in ensuring the best care possible for those who are seeking it.

Information Technology and Data Management:

As healthcare facilities begin to lean more towards the use of technology in their care, there will be “greater opportunities for managers with detailed knowledge, understanding and skills in managing data.” (Buchbinder & Thompson, Pg 201, 2010) It is helpful to have someone within your practice or facility that is skilled in the use of technology, as not all of us are. This person can help with system updates, issues with the technology being used, among other things.

Medicare, Medicaid, and Other Federal Health Programs:

As more people are requiring the help of these federally funded insurance programs, it is important to not only understand each of them and how they work, but also understand how these services will either hurt or benefit you and your practice by accepting or not accepting them.

Performance Improvement/Quality/Patient Safety :

Some healthcare managers have more experience in the customer service aspect of patient care than others. This is beneficial because those are the people who can help figure out what areas need the most improvement, and how to better the quality outcomes of patient care and safety. Patient safety is at the top of the list of importance when it comes to taking care of them, so it’s necessary to take all the right steps in ensuring it is done successfully, and in the most efficient way possible.

Clinical Leadership:

As mentioned before, and suggested by one of managers during their interview, the best leaders often come from the bottom. The best leaders have started at the bottom of the totem pole and worked their way up into the management position. They have worked in each part, or at least some parts of the facilities where they are now managing and know what goes on, and what goes into each position. This helps them understand their employees better because they can honestly say they have been there and understand what needs to be done to improve things.

The impact of these changes will help facilities grow and become more patient and employee focused. Having management who has been where you are now, and experienced the things you experience will help them make decisions that are best not only for the practice but also for you as an employee. It will help patients be treated at a lower cost and provide more options for treatment. Proverbs 3:27 says “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.” (What Does the Bible Say About Caring For Others? (2019) Becoming a healthcare manager means that you want to do good by your patients and employees. It means you care, and you want to make a difference so that things will be better for the future.

References:

Brenner, B. (2021, July 29). The Top 5 Challenges Healthcare Managers Face. MEDPRO Disposal, LLC. https://www.medprodisposal.com/the-top-5-challenges-healthcare-managers-face/

Freitag, M., Aseem Kinra, Kotzab, H., & Megow, N. (2022). Dynamics in Logistics. Springer Nature.

Henry-Noel, N., Bishop, M., Gwede, C. K., Petkova, E., & Szumacher, E. (2019). Mentorship in Medicine and Other Health Professions. Journal of Cancer Education: The Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Education, 34(4), 629–637. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-018-1360-6

Sharon Bell Buchbinder, & Thompson, J. M. Pg. 196, (2010). Career opportunities in health care management : perspectives from the field. Jones And Bartlett Publishers.

What Does the Bible Say About Caring For Others? (2019). Openbible.info. https://www.openbible.info/topics/caring_for_othersLinks to an external site.

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