Health Care Administrator Interview - Essay Example

Interview of nursing leader Affiliation: Introduction The health care administratorinterviewed is the head of a medium level health care facility which does not have a very large administration staff hence most of the work is performed by the administrator. He handles a lot of work ranging from the usual office duties of telephones and answering mails to receiving visitors and handling health care workers problems in addition to managing the resources and facilitating the smooth running of the health care facility in general. The interview will shed more light into the daily life of a health care administrator including all their roles and responsibilities, what it means to be a leader and the qualifications required. Lastly, the health care administrator will address how leadership has evolved and the challenges of being a leader in such a position. The healthcare administrator has a background course in administration and management on top of being a qualified medical doctor. He decided to be an administrator after seeing the shortage of health care administrators who understood the role of health care workers and tended well to the hospitals from the facilities to the equipment and finally management of the staff themselves. He takes his work very seriously and loves it because it challenges him and enables him attend to the needs of the facility. He describes himself as a leader and not a manager and hence he is more of a server to the staff than a commander. This role however does not make him slack in his duties but has made him a stronger administrator. According to Dr. Jefferson (not his real name), a leader is a servant of the people and not just a rule maker and enforcer. A leader is supposed to be one with the people and take care of their every need. He should work as a team with the people he is leading and be their supervisor and not just watch them from a far. Each leader should ensure that they have open communication with the staff and not put barriers that will not only impede the communication but cut it completely. When communication between a leader and the followers is open, it facilitates growth, openness, ownership and togetherness. Finally, a leader aims at reuniting people and letting them live in peace and harmony and this will trickle down to the patients and other stakeholders of the health care facility. Leaders are managers with more humanity in them. They are servants of the people and their guider not their commander or dictator. A leader is supposed to be an honest individual with the staff. He should tell them the truth about the current situation of the organization whether it is financial, structural or organizational. Honesty will strengthen the bond between the leader and the staff. In as much as a leader is a servant, the leader is supposed to command respect and have the ability to delegate. The delegation of duties should be accompanied with commitment of the work and towards the work of the organization ensuring they fulfill their goals and objectives. Lastly, commitment should be on the top priority of every leader if they are to succeed in each and every endeavor. I agree with the leadership concept as explained by the health care administrator. On top of the leader being committed and being more of a servant than a dictator or a mere manager, a leader should exude confidence in his role of leadership. A leader that portrays confidence to the employees is bound to command respect as well as fill the employees with a sense of confidence of their work as well. A leader that is all serious will be feared and this is not a good thing. A leader should therefore have a sense of humor to not only minimize the challenges and fear among the employees but also panic and make them look forward to working with the leader at all times. Dr. Jefferson confesses that in all the years he has been an administrator, he has experienced all sorts of challenges but none has contributed to a learning experience like the strike of his staff three years ago. It was at that point that he stopped being a manager and an administrator and decided to be a leader. He was hard on his employees, overworking them and not listening to them or their grievances. He refused them to enter into a union and even worse reduced open and direct communication with the staff encouraging only official communication through memo and email. When they went on strike, he became open to the idea of listening to them, opening up communication and even attending leadership workshops to help him learn. The past several years and centuries had no leadership only management where the administrator’s word was final without negotiations or deference. With the campaign on transformation from management to leadership and the people becoming aware of their rights in the work place, administrators are transforming to accommodate the views of their staff. They make decisions after consultation with the other health care workers and gaining their support. Very few cases have remained where the administrator is the sole decision maker and an authoritarian. The employees have also learnt how to steer the leaders into the right direction without using threats or strikes but simply through dialogue. The leadership of today has definitely improved and is continuing to be even better. The administrator explains how he has faced several challenges in his execution of the roles and responsibilities. One of these challenges has been in regards to management of finances to suit all the requirements of the health care facility. With the insurance policies and other health care policy changes, budgeting has been hard and he has had to call in investors as well as seek donations from well-wishers of the facility. The other challenge has been in human resources especially the hiring and firing of employees and handling the interns that are in the facility. Hiring the best employees has been a hard and long process which consumes a lot of money and time not to mention the frequent training needed to address the new health policies and practices. Dr. Jefferson has had a mentor whom he got after the whole strike scandal. His mentor influenced his change in management skills and guided him through leadership styles. He organized for him to attend leadership forums and seminars and well as meet other leaders and health administrators who had undergone the same challenges like him. The mentor taught him about the virtue of patience and being a listener before making any decisions and these ensured that he gained confidence and became committed with his leadership. The mentor also showed him how to entice investors and the people to seek donations from and he has passed the same to other administrators facing challenges as well making him a stronger leader in the long run. He holds his mentor very dearly and appreciates him greatly. Conclusion According to the health administrator, any individual aspiring to be a leader must be very committed in his or her work in the organization. The commitment is important as it will enable him be strong in facing and tackling the challenges that are bound to happen in the short and long run. Establishing good rapport with the employees through open communication with them is also another way to succeed as a leader as communication will clear all misunderstandings. Lastly, any leader is supposed to have the confidence that they will perform as required of them and follow the rules and guidelines set no matter what. References Anonson, J. et al. (January, 2014). “Qualities of exemplary nurse leaders: perspectives of frontline nurses.” Journal of Nursing Management, 22 (1), 127-136. Goel, S. and Kumar, R. (2002). Hospital Administration and Management. New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications. Read More