Describe the various functions of healthcare managers. What are the key differences between each one? How can the healthcare manager ensure high performance in his/her business unit?
Your replies to your classmates’ threads must be substantive. 400 words atleast 3 peer reviewed sources in each paragraph APA format
The health care field is a forever growing industry in the United States. Healthcare management is exactly what the name implies. This job entails administration, management, or oversight of health care systems, hospitals, entire hospital networks or other medical facilities. Health care workers have a wide range of responsibilities such as overseeing areas like quality of care all the way to budgeting. Buchbinder and Thompson breaks down the six management functions of health care managers which include; planning, organizing, staffing, controlling, directing and decision making (Buchbinder & Thompson, 2010). Each of these functions rank high in ensuring that an organization is running as smoothly as possible and performing correctly.
Planning is the first function described by Buchbinder and Thompson, this function requires the manager to determine which direction the team wants to work in order to complete the goals that need to be done. This also means that prioritizing different job duties during each day. Organizing is next and is also extremely important in ensuring an organization is running smoothly. This not only means organization in the workspace, but this also means forming teams and designating assignments and authority. Staffing, in my opinion is one of the most important. Work overload is also a very large challenge in the healthcare field. Like stated before the field is constantly growing and that will not be something that changes anytime soon. In some health care organizations, there is a shortage which means fewer staff members must divide a significant workload pushing employees to exhaustion and lower job satisfaction. Controlling, this function is something that needs to have an equal balance to it. As a leader in the health care management business you need to be able to monitor your staffs work and have the ability to make the appropriate actions if needed but you need to also have a good working relationship with your staff as well. Directing is guaranteeing that all focus is being directed to the correct areas for optimal success. Decision Making is the last function on the list from Buchbinder and Thompson on the processes of management. This function is significant due to management being a role that making effective decisions is big for the thoughtfulness on the paybacks and the drawbacks for the organization (Buchbinder & Thompson, 2010).
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I thought that Isaiah 41:10 was a good bible verse for this discussion because in the field of health care management teamwork plays a massive role in the success of an organization. In order to function as a whole every single individual needs to ensure that they are working with the motivation that every patient has the best experience. You might be working in the health care field to feel accomplished, but you are also there to help others and in order to do that you must constantly be learning and adapting to ensure that you are giving the best care that you possibly can.
One of the most important roles in the health care administrative side of health care is the managers. This position takes a great deal of dedication, hard work and persistence. A role of a manager in the health care field is to ensure an environment that can provide necessary and quality health care at a maximum profit. There will always be theories considering the question of what makes a good manager; however, some qualities overlap when discussing the definition. A good manager should possess excellent motivating skills, they should have the ability to motive their staff in a positive manager when they are in need and able the ability to delegate workload fairly and efficiently (Moss, 2019). Some of the most efficient traits include:
· Building good working relationships with people at all levels
· Prioritizing tasks effectively for yourself and your team
· Considering all angles in decision making
· Developing new ideas to solve costumers/patients’ problems
· Understanding the needs of different stakeholders and communicating with them appropriately
· Using emotional intelligence
Working in the health care field can have its downfalls. For every individual in the health care field their personal challenges vary from person to person, but there does tend to be some overlap for reasons. One of the biggest found was lack of advancement opportunities. When an individual begins their journey in a field, especially in the health care field, they usually do not want to stay on that level forever, unless you are already starting out in a higher-level position. You want to work your way up in that field and aim for more opportunities or else as an individual you are just not challenging yourself. Another reason would be poor salary, a large percent of Americas health care workers today believe that the salary is identified as a problem. Not everyone is going to get the doctors salary, but the administrative side does fight a lot of fires in this field as well. Work overload is also a very large challenge in the healthcare field. Like stated before the field is constantly growing and that will not be something that changes anytime soon. In some health care organizations, there is a shortage which means fewer staff members must divide a significant workload pushing employees to exhaustion and lower job satisfaction (Gurtner, 2016).
