There are few contemporary industries that are as complex and
challenging to navigate as healthcare. The realities of constantly
changing regulatory, financial, and legal environments, combined
with increasing societal expectations for excellence and safe and
quality care, have resulted in a unique combination of constraints
and opportunities that require the best and the brightest of
managers and leaders to successfully tackle. Yet despite a growing
cadre of highly trained healthcare management professionals, there
continues to be a paucity of high quality leaders across the
industry. Moreover, even among those individuals, there is a
significant amount of variability and heterogeneity of leadership
styles and approaches. In an era of accountability to multiple
stakeholders from patients, to insurance companies, to local and
national governments the complex environment of healthcare requires
visionary leadership, flexibility, adaptability, short-term
tactical approaches, as well as long-term strategic thinking.
Beyond the traditionally defined scope of services, the mission of
institutions providing healthcare services has become much broader
and far-reaching than just the provision of medical services within
a specific geographic area. With hospitals and health networks
progressively growing to become some of the largest aggregators of
employment in the United States, it is not uncommon for healthcare
institutions to function as guarantors of economic stability to
entire towns, cities, and regions. Yet this must be carefully
balanced with the challenges of maintaining sustainable growth and
acceptable profit margins that help ensure that this safety matrix
continues to function as intended. To be an effective leader in the
modern healthcare environment, one must possess more than the
knowledge and skills similar to other corporate environments such
as having a fundamental understanding of relevant business models
and their implementations, a high degree of emotional intelligence,
conflict resolution, and a well-established repertoire of
leadership behaviors expected of an executive. It takes someone
truly special to translate the presence of diverse threats and
opportunities often in a climate rich with multiple types of
diversely structured and organized competitors, multi-layered
complex agendas that incorporate both personal and organizational
goals, and an institutional history and culture that can be
difficult to navigate, let alone change. Contemporary healthcare
leaders must also possess a broad understanding of the nuances and
intricacies involved in working with a multitude of care providers,
inter-disciplinary teams, complex delivery platforms, and diverse
patient populations. These efforts must translate into well-run
healthcare systems that, although difficult to clearly and
concisely define, are able to deliver excellent patient care, at
the highest possible intersection of customer quality and value.
For some other healthcare institutions, teaching and research
missions can also be variables that must be considered and managed
effectively in order for a hospital or healthcare system to be
successful. Many of such organizations are the primary generators
and providers of new provider talent to their communities and
patients. Achieving all of the above goals is far from easy. As the
editors of Fundamentals of Leadership for Healthcare Professionals,
we were motivated by personal experiences, passion for the arts and
sciences leadership roles, and the overarching goal to improve one
of our most precious resources the healthcare system. Each chapter
in this text explores different aspects of healthcare leadership,
provides valuable insights into how effective leadership functions,
and offers practical perspectives on implementations of theory into
practice. We hope that the reader will gain a better understanding
of the full spectrum of challenges and opportunities that face
healthcare leaders at all organizational levels.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
