This week we had a guest speaker who does a lot of work with crisis management at a local hospital. Her presentation was extremely interesting and informative and it taught me a lot about the importance of being prepared for certain emergency situations. Crisis management is not something I really thought about before and I didn't realize how prepared hospitals need to be. This year with all of the natural disasters and tragedies that have happened have made hospitals think about their crisis management plans more than they have in the past. There is a lot at stake in hospitals since they have such a huge population of unhealthy people that are responsible for if a disaster situation were to arise.
Our guest speaker told us a little bit of the protocols that she needs to follow when a disaster is occurring in order to ensure that everybody on the senior leadership team is aware of what is going on. Part of being a manager is knowing how to react in those situations and be able to act under pressure and lead the people around you. Making sure that you are fully prepared and aware of what the organization's protocols are for those types of situations is extremely important. Being a successful leader in those situations requires you to remain calm and be able to guide the people around you in a collected manner.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Post 10: Healthcare Policies
Recently in our Health Policy class we had a guest speaker come in to talk to us about the Affordable Care Act and how it came into being a law. This presentation made me realize just how much governmental policies affect the way hospital managers run their business. We have talked about this a lot in all of my classes this semester, as well as hear professionals talk about current policy issues at various networking events. As a manager, is it essential to be up to date on the latest policies and know what is going on and what could be changing.
I found an article written in The Baltimore Sun titled "Hospital presidents talk about health issues with business owners". In this article, the president of John Hopkins Hospital talked about how closely she watches things like taking away health insurance coverage or making changes to the Medicaid program. She said that they do worry about the federal level and what is going on there. Dr. Mohan Suntha also talked about how communicating with physicians about policy issues can be difficult. He explained how they just want to know the "rules of the game" so that they can figure out how to better take care of patients. This can be difficult for them, however, because in healthcare the "rules of the game" are constantly changing. Overall, managing any business requires knowledge of current policy issues, but in healthcare it is especially important and changing constantly.
Link to article:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-hs-gbc-hospital-ceos-20171115-story.html
I found an article written in The Baltimore Sun titled "Hospital presidents talk about health issues with business owners". In this article, the president of John Hopkins Hospital talked about how closely she watches things like taking away health insurance coverage or making changes to the Medicaid program. She said that they do worry about the federal level and what is going on there. Dr. Mohan Suntha also talked about how communicating with physicians about policy issues can be difficult. He explained how they just want to know the "rules of the game" so that they can figure out how to better take care of patients. This can be difficult for them, however, because in healthcare the "rules of the game" are constantly changing. Overall, managing any business requires knowledge of current policy issues, but in healthcare it is especially important and changing constantly.
Link to article:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-hs-gbc-hospital-ceos-20171115-story.html
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Post 9: Human Resources
This week in class we had a guest speaker who is the Vice President of Human Resources at one of the major hospitals in New Hampshire. He has a lot of important things to say about the role that human resources plays in a hospital and why they are so crucial to the functioning of the organization. Human resources is extremely important in any industry because it deals with people and as long as there are people working in an organization, there will be a need for human resources. In health care especially, it is important to have that department to help guide employees who may have not had a lot of experience in leadership training and develop them into better leaders and coworkers.
Human resources also plays a critical role in the hiring of new employees. In healthcare especially, making sure new employees have the right credentials and education is extremely important. In our Health Law class, we talked about a case involving a man who had never graduated medical school but had still ended up practicing medicine because he scammed the hiring department of the hospitals he worked at. Cases like these show how important it is to have a human resources department to follow through on verifying the credentials of potential candidates. Human resources also provides a lot of support in dealing with conflicts in the work place. Like I said before, as long as your organization has people working in it, conflict is going to occur at some point and it is important to have a resource to go to when that happens. As a hospital manager, acknowledging the need for human resources and having an understanding of exactly what they do will help you in creating a successful organization.
Human resources also plays a critical role in the hiring of new employees. In healthcare especially, making sure new employees have the right credentials and education is extremely important. In our Health Law class, we talked about a case involving a man who had never graduated medical school but had still ended up practicing medicine because he scammed the hiring department of the hospitals he worked at. Cases like these show how important it is to have a human resources department to follow through on verifying the credentials of potential candidates. Human resources also provides a lot of support in dealing with conflicts in the work place. Like I said before, as long as your organization has people working in it, conflict is going to occur at some point and it is important to have a resource to go to when that happens. As a hospital manager, acknowledging the need for human resources and having an understanding of exactly what they do will help you in creating a successful organization.
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Post 8: Stress
Everyone experiences feelings of stress. Stress can be a huge strain on someone's daily and can affect their overall health. If someone is experiencing an immense amount of stress, it can cause them to not be able to do their job very well. As a manager, it is important to keep this in mind when dealing with your employees. Providing resources for employees to help with stress management could be a good way to improve the functioning of your organization.
In the organization I spent time at this summer, they held a seminar that was about job burnout. Job burnout is when you start to feel unmotivated and unsatisfied in your job and you begin to dread going to work. The seminar taught employees about the signs and symptoms of job burnout and how to deal with that and avoid it. I thought that this was great because it told employees that they weren't alone if they were feeling that way and that there were ways to help them feel more fulfilled in their career and life. Making sure your employees are feeling good about what they are doing and are motivated to do well is so important to the success of an organization, especially healthcare. Having employees that feel supported and motivated will result in better care and a better function team.
In the organization I spent time at this summer, they held a seminar that was about job burnout. Job burnout is when you start to feel unmotivated and unsatisfied in your job and you begin to dread going to work. The seminar taught employees about the signs and symptoms of job burnout and how to deal with that and avoid it. I thought that this was great because it told employees that they weren't alone if they were feeling that way and that there were ways to help them feel more fulfilled in their career and life. Making sure your employees are feeling good about what they are doing and are motivated to do well is so important to the success of an organization, especially healthcare. Having employees that feel supported and motivated will result in better care and a better function team.
Friday, October 20, 2017
Post 7: Long Term Care
I just finished listening a podcast conducted by Professor Bonica with the COO of Alliance Management Services, Tom Lavallee. I figured I would take this opportunity to write my blog about what I learned about the importance of long term care and some advice that Tom had for being a good leader. Long term care has been something that I really haven't had much desire to pursue my career in. However, after listening to this podcast, I learned just how important it is to healthcare overall and how you can really make a fulfilling career out of it. I also learned just how much the industry has changed over the years and how nursing homes have really developed into more complex facilities with the ability to take care of much sicker patients. Tom mentioned how the Baby Boomer generation is growing old and that there will be a rapid increase in the amount of people who will need a place to go such as a nursing home. It is definitely an area that is not going anywhere for a while.
Tom also talked about what he believes makes a good leader. He said the leaders need to set the tone for their organization and be will to go out there and be engaged with their staff. This reminded me of the idea of not being a "carpet administrator", which Professor Bonica has talked about previously in class. The idea behind not being a carpet administrator is that you will leave your carpeted office and go out on the patient floors and make yourself very present to the staff. Another good piece of advice he had was that "whatever you expect out of your employees, you better be doing it yourself". I thought that this was a really great piece of advice because your employees will have so much more respect for you if they know that you are willing to put in the work as well and not just sit there and demand things from them. By having employees that trust and respect you, you will have a much more successful organization.
Link to podcast:
https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/abridged-thomas-c-lavallee-coo-alliance-health-management-services
Tom also talked about what he believes makes a good leader. He said the leaders need to set the tone for their organization and be will to go out there and be engaged with their staff. This reminded me of the idea of not being a "carpet administrator", which Professor Bonica has talked about previously in class. The idea behind not being a carpet administrator is that you will leave your carpeted office and go out on the patient floors and make yourself very present to the staff. Another good piece of advice he had was that "whatever you expect out of your employees, you better be doing it yourself". I thought that this was a really great piece of advice because your employees will have so much more respect for you if they know that you are willing to put in the work as well and not just sit there and demand things from them. By having employees that trust and respect you, you will have a much more successful organization.
Link to podcast:
https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/abridged-thomas-c-lavallee-coo-alliance-health-management-services
Monday, October 16, 2017
Post 6: Relationships
This past Friday we had an ACHE event at UNH called "Shaping the Future: Leadership and Public Policy in Healthcare." This event included a panel of healthcare executives talking to us about various topics involving leadership in healthcare. One of the things that stuck out the most to me was when they talked about the importance of creating good relationships with the people around you. They emphasized the fact that you can never do anything alone, and that even if you come up with an idea by yourself, you will always need a group of people behind you to help make it happen. Healthcare is extremely collaborative, and it is imperative that a staff can successfully work together in order to get things done.
As a leader, I think it is important to always know your strengths and what you are really good at. Along with this, you also need to know what your weaknesses are and what you will need help with in order to get something done. This idea really stuck with me personally because I know that I am a perfectionist and always want to be able to do everything on my own. For example, in group projects, I tend to be the person that tries to take on everything and make sure it is done perfectly. One thing I have been working on this year is acknowledging the fact that others may be better at some things than I am, and that is okay. Being able to work with others and form relationships where you can acknowledge each other's strengths and weaknesses and work together towards a common goal is a skill that is imperative in not only healthcare, but any work environment. In order to be a good manager, you need to be aware of what your staff is capable of and having trust in them that they know what they're doing and that they will do the right thing.
As a leader, I think it is important to always know your strengths and what you are really good at. Along with this, you also need to know what your weaknesses are and what you will need help with in order to get something done. This idea really stuck with me personally because I know that I am a perfectionist and always want to be able to do everything on my own. For example, in group projects, I tend to be the person that tries to take on everything and make sure it is done perfectly. One thing I have been working on this year is acknowledging the fact that others may be better at some things than I am, and that is okay. Being able to work with others and form relationships where you can acknowledge each other's strengths and weaknesses and work together towards a common goal is a skill that is imperative in not only healthcare, but any work environment. In order to be a good manager, you need to be aware of what your staff is capable of and having trust in them that they know what they're doing and that they will do the right thing.
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Post 5: Performance Improvement
This week in class we had a guest presentation from a high level executive working in performance improvement. During this presentation, I learned just how important quality and performance improvement is to the entire hospital. One of the things he talked about in his presentation was the five principles of LEAN: value, value stream, flow, pull, and perfection. I think that one thing all departments of a hospital should strive for and always be thinking about is perfection. As a manager, I hope to one day continuously inspire my employees to work towards perfection. Even though there really is no such thing as a "perfect" hospital, we should be trying to get as close to it as possible. We should never settle for being just good enough, and should always be thinking about what more we could do to become a perfectly operating organization.
Performance improvement is an area of healthcare that I am very interested in. It connects to every single area of an organization and is extremely important to the success of a hospital. All managers should be understanding of performance improvement and always willing to comply to anything that could help make them better.
Performance improvement is an area of healthcare that I am very interested in. It connects to every single area of an organization and is extremely important to the success of a hospital. All managers should be understanding of performance improvement and always willing to comply to anything that could help make them better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)