Healthcare needs more leaders, new skills

Emma Pavlov, director of the Schulich ExecEd’s Masters Certificate Program in Healthcare Management, says there are many challenges facing healthcare managers and gaps in the overall skills set needed by today’s healthcare executive.

“We now have a lot more challenges facing us in that there are a lot more integrations in the healthcare system. We also have a lot more need for strategic alliances and strategic partnerships, so learning how to work with that kind of environment requires skills where, for example, you need to have heightened skills in stakeholder relationships. Healthcare has recognized the fact that we do have gaps in leadership. In acquiring new leaders, developing leaders, which is really part of why this executive development program is so critical for health care.

“Furthermore, within the healthcare environment and within the workplace, our new workers have a different expectation of the workplace. We have flatter organizations, we have people who want to share authority and we need leaders that understand that and can work with that kind of environment. We also have a very strong need to not just look at health care as a social services enterprise. It’s also a huge business enterprise. There’s a lot of need to measure results, to learn to be more efficient, with less money.

Pavlov also spoke about the very popular Lean Six Sigma program as a valuable tool for health care executives and their staff.

“Lean is a problem-solving process improvement process. The private sector has been using this methodology with great success for quite some time and health care is now realizing that it is a methodology that we can also use in order to improve efficiency and reduce costs. And at the same time engage staff.

Another key component of the Masters Certificate in Healthcare Management program is Risk Management, Pavlov said.

“Risk Management in health care is something that has emerged as an important area in the last few years. It has become a very, important part that even the auditors of most public-sector organizations are now demanding.

As always, the program facilitators are key to the success of this very popular program, Pavlov said.

“I’ve made sure that the people that facilitate these programs are really second to none. We have people from the business sector, we have people from the academic sector, as well as people from the healthcare sector, and I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback about the immediacy of the learning; the fact that you get tools that you can really use right away, back in the workplace, and be successful, or more successful.

“The program also gives you an opportunity to assess your leadership style, to understand how you make decisions, how you come across to your staff, as well as how you come across to your peers and your superiors.

“So, I invite you to consider this as a growth opportunity, especially if you’re interested in staying in the healthcare industry,” said Pavlov.

For more information on the Masters Certificate Program in Healthcare Management, visit the program website.