What Traits Do the Best Healthcare Managers Have?
The best Healthcare Administrators and Managers are empathetic and compassionate problem-solvers who can communicate effectively with staff, patients, and the community. They’re good leaders who motivate their team to deliver the best care possible and they manage their own time well, quickly adapting to change when necessary. Could you work in healthcare administration? It’s a career path you can start at any time, but before you do, make sure you possess the traits that the best Healthcare Managers have:
Healthcare Managers Are Committed to Patient Care
To be a great Healthcare Manager, you need to care about the work you do. You love your job, and your top priority is delivering effective, safe, efficient patient care. You look forward to getting to work each day and know that what you do really matters. Your passion also sets the tone for coworkers. When they see your infectious positivity for the job, it motivates them to bring their best work to the patients and to the team.
Good Healthcare Administrators Are Effective Leaders
Your positive attitude is one way to lead by example. You also need to use your leadership skills to guide your team toward excellence. You need to communicate, motivate, foster collaboration, resolve conflicts, make decisions under pressure, and adapt to industry changes. And your ability to inspire, guide, and support the healthcare team can improve patient care and outcomes.
Healthcare Administrators Are Well Organized
Whether you help run a floor, a department, or a facility, staying organized is critical to success. Healthcare facilities are busy places. There are new patients to care for, staff to oversee, and last-minute problems to deal with. It’s important to stay organized and manage your time well so you can juggle all of the responsibilities on your plate. Build a routine for yourself to accomplish the necessary, everyday tasks and leave wiggle room for the last-minute requests or decisions. Prioritize the more urgent assignments and delegate what you can.
Compassion and Empathy in Healthcare Settings
Even if you’re not involved in direct patient care, you want what’s best for your patients because you care about them. You have empathy for them and the people who work with and for you. To demonstrate that empathy, you build a supportive work environment, and recognize challenges that patients, their families, and the staff may face. You prioritize patient-centered care and staff well-being and build an environment of trust and respect.
Excellent Communication with Medical Team
Good communication in a healthcare setting improves patient safety, teamwork, and efficient care delivery. When you provide clear instructions to your team, it helps to reduce errors, enhance staff coordination, and build patient trust. Effective communication also encourages collaboration, leads to streamlined decision-making, and helps to ensure that you and your team are in compliance with medical protocols.
Healthcare Technology Abilities
The modern healthcare system is run on technology so anyone working in it needs to be tech savvy. Especially when you work in administration, you need a solid understanding of common computer systems used in healthcare. A few examples include: Electronic Health Records, Medical Billing and Coding, Hospital Management Software, Workforce Management systems, Data Analytics and Reporting Tools, and Telemedicine Platforms.
Healthcare Administrators Solve Problems
As a Healthcare Administrator, you need to be a good problem solver. From internal staff conflicts and employee turnover to billing issues and technical glitches, there may be challenges around every corner. Your job is to find solutions that keep things running smoothly. You need to be able to shift gears quickly, think critically, and come up with solutions that are beneficial, economical, and resourceful.
Healthcare Managers are Adaptable
Whether laws, technologies, patient demand, or the institutions themselves, there is always change in health care. There may be brand-new regulations, or your facility might merge with another. To work in the field as a manager, you need to be adaptable to change. Your willingness to be flexible helps you solve problems, manage crises, and support your healthcare team effectively. Your embrace of change can help improve efficiency, enhance patient outcomes, and maintain a resilient, high-performing healthcare environment.
Ethical Judgment and Decision Making in Healthcare Settings
Ethical decision-making is crucial for Healthcare Managers to ensure patient safety, uphold legal standards, and maintain trust. You need to choose the right decisions to balance patient care, staff well-being, and the fiscal health of your organization. You always need to adhere to the regulations that surround the healthcare industry and your own guiding moral principles. Your ethical leadership can build integrity, transparency, and fairness across your facility and the healthcare system. You can set the example for everyone you work with.
Are you interested in becoming a healthcare manager? Charter College offers a Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration degree completion program that can prepare you for an entry-level career in this industry. The program can be completed in as few as 15 months, entirely online. Call 888-200-9842 or fill out the form to learn more.