The following journal entry is written after successful shadowing process on the Chief Executive officer of a hospital and particularly undertaking shadow duties of the CEO within the hospital.
What did I learn?
I undertook several activities during this time. First, I attended and chaired meetings of the hospital head of departments. In these meetings, I was briefed about the operations of various departments and their strategic approach in realizing the overall hospital mission and objectives. During these meetings were discussed the various challenges that departments were experiencing in their daily operations. For instance, it emerged that evidence-based practices in nursing and clinical departments had not been fully embraced. Some of the challenges that hindered the implementation were identified as resistance from the healthcare practitioners due to organizational culture, the existence of conflicting literature and lack of integration into the healthcare Information systems. The head of Information committed to ensuring that such evidence-based research information can be easily accessed from the hospital’s EHR system.
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Secondly, I undertook a review of the financial spending by various departments in comparison with the budgetary allocations. I reviewed the financial records from the various departments especially on their procurement processes and the costing of goods and services. Through this activity, I learned that a consistent review of financial activities enables the hospital to operate within a budget (Kaplan, 2012). Moreover, it ensures that the hospital operates economically and hence reduces the cost of healthcare.
Moreover, I was involved in the process of hiring and interviewing the head of the nursing department that had fallen vacant. Through the process, I learned the essential required competencies and qualifications for one to head the nursing department. More than having a deep understanding of the nursing practices and principles the individual needs to demonstrate strong leadership skills as well as the ability to manage resources.
Lastly, I attended the hospital board meetings in which hospital policies and overall financial performance were discussed. From these meetings, I learned about the role of Hospital boards in the management of the hospital. I realized that the Hospital CEO reports to the hospital board of management in all matters that relate to the management of the hospital.
How Did I Address My Learning Objectives this Week?
I have addressed many of my learning objectives this week through this exercise. First, I addressed the learning objective that pertains to leadership in healthcare. I gained in-depth knowledge about the roles of leadership within healthcare organizations. For instance, I learned how leaders create teams with a shared vision within the healthcare settings. Through the recruitment process, I gained insights about specific competencies, traits, and personalities required of a leader within the healthcare setting. Moreover, I gain practical communication skills required in the leadership of healthcare. Through these practical methods, I managed to address this week’s learning objectives on leadership.
Secondly, I have managed to address this week’s learning on financial management in healthcare. Through the review of financial reports and budgeting in my position, I understood the principles of financial allocation and resource utilization in healthcare settings. Moreover, I understood the role of the board of management in the overall management of the hospital.
How Did this Experience Impact Me?
This experience has greatly impacted me as an aspiring leader in nursing and overall healthcare. The experience has enabled me to nurture the specific competencies and attributes needed in healthcare leadership. Through this experience, I now know my weaknesses in healthcare leadership and management that I need to work on in order to improve my capacity as a leader within the healthcare setting. For instance, I have learned the relevance of financial management and its relevance in the management of healthcare (Broscio, 2014). Overall, this experience has improved my leadership capacity by equipping me with the essential skills that I require to be an effective leader within the context of healthcare organizations.
How Have I Been Able to Collaborate With Others?
The experience has given me an opportunity to collaborate with others. For instance, I collaborated with other when brainstorming solutions to the challenges of implementing evidence-based practices. Moreover, I teamed up with other departmental heads as well as nurses and physicians in implementing best practices within the hospital. Therefore, this experience enabled me to work effectively with other people within a team and realize that each member of the team can make a unique contribution to the realization of the team’s and the organization’s vision as well as objectives.
How Have I Been Able To Collaborate With Interdisciplinary Teams?
The shadowing process gave me an opportunity to team up with other interdisciplinary teams. The operation of healthcare facilities involves other disciplines other than healthcare disciplines such as human resource and information technology among others (Walshe, 2016). Through this experience, I worked with the human resource teams in structuring the recruitment process and executing the entire procedure to ensure that we got the best candidate for the position of the head of the nursing department. Secondly, I collaborated with the IT department in the development of an appropriate information system that could facilitate the integration of evidence research into the hospital’s electronic health information system. My successful partnership with interdisciplinary teams bolstered my confidence in undertaking the CEO duties.
References
Kaplan, G. S. (2012). Waste not: The management imperative for healthcare. Journal of Healthcare Management, 57 (3), 160-166.
Broscio, M. A. (2014). Career management in today’s healthcare environment. Journal of Healthcare Management, 59 (6), 395-398.
Walshe, K. (2016). Healthcare management . London: McGraw-Hill Education.
