Nursing Leadership and Management

Evidence-based management is among the factors that facilitate effective healthcare delivery (Walshe & Rundall, 2001). As they apply latest evidence to the delivery of medical services, managers and healthcare practitioners are able to safeguard patient wellbeing. It is worth noting that evidence-based management is not confined to clinical practice. Managers in non-clinical settings can also adopt evidence-based management. However, compared to healthcare managers, the managers who work in non-clinical settings encounter tougher challenges as they adopt evidence-based decision making.

The fact that the stakes are lower for non-clinical administrators is among the factors that make it difficult for them to embrace evidence-based management. On the other hand, clinical administrators are involved in the preservation of human life. Their mandate imposes immense pressure to adopt the latest evidence. Through evidence-based management and leadership, they are able to develop novel solutions which improve patient outcomes (Walshe & Rundall, 2001). The same cannot be said about non-clinical administrators whose mandates are not as demanding as those of clinical leaders. Another reason why non-clinical administrators would struggle as they embrace evidence-based management lies in the absence of evidence. For clinical administrators, there are wide volumes of evidence that have been gathered through years of extensive research (Walshe & Rundall, 2001). In fact, many administrators lag behind as regards the adoption of evidence. Basically, the presentation of evidence is occurring at a pace that is so quick that administrators are unable to keep up. While not necessarily true for all non-clinical settings, reliable evidence is generally lacking. Therefore, even when they desperately desire to apply the evidence, the non-clinical administrators may be unable to find it. One of the factors that facilitate the adoption of evidence-based management is the establishment of bodies which offer support to clinical administrators. For example, Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Center for Research Health Management Research strive to provide clinical administrators with the insights they need to improve care (Walshe & Rundall, 2001). Thanks to the efforts of these organizations, the healthcare industry has made commendable strides in the adoption of evidence-based management. Non-clinical administrators may lack the kind of support that their clinical counterparts enjoy. This would hamper their efforts to adopt evidence-based management. While they may encounter challenges, the non-clinical administrators should not spare any resource in their bid to integrate evidence-based management into their work.

Reference

Walshe, K., & Rundall, T. G. (2001). Evidence-Based Management: From Theory to Practice in Health Care. The Milbank Quarterly, 97 (3), 429-457.