I am somewhat puzzled by the idea of people studying to become healthcare administrators with NO experience in the health care field whatsoever. Some have the goal of becoming a "clinical administrator" - how can you become a "clinical" admin if you are not a clinical person???
Currently I am sharing a graduate studies class with students who are mostly not nurses. It appears to me that they have the idea that their previous knowledge from education, science or such is enough to become an administrator in a hospital, clinic or other facility. If this is the new trend - it scares me!
I once worked as a clinical manager under a facility administrator who had NO healthcare or clinical experience. Her focus was clearly "numbers", no social skills, and no idea about the area she was supposed to manage. It was a bad experience all around. I left shortly after she started.
I understand that we need people in healthcare who are administrators but most successful admins in facilities and hospitals or clinics are nurses.
I work at a very prestigious hospital. This hospital regularly hires MHA/MBA graduates as clinical managers and directors with no clinical experience whatsoever (unless you count the administration fellowship/residency our hospital sponsors). The reason I was given by an executive was that nurses who move up the corporate ladder have too much loyalty to the clinical staff and that causes "issues" in meetings. The person would not go into detail.
I suspect he/she meant that nurses who move up the corporate ladder have a sense of responsibility to the clinical staff and these nurses won't just be "Yes" people in meetings.
I'm sorry but I don't think it necessary that they need to have clinical experience. No offense but this seems just like more lobbying about how nurses are needed at every position. Nurses can make great administrators but non nurses can too
How can you manage nurses if you don't have more than a superficial knowledge of what their job entails?
I'm a psychiatric nurse and in my last two positions my supervisors have been social workers. The last one was a crisis residential facility and the one before that was a psychiatric medication clinic. Of course these supervisors knew little of nursing and were woefully inadequate as supervisors.
Any healthcare facility is a business, whether we like it or not. Just like a supermarket, a gas station, a restaurant. They all have the same baseline rules of management. So, ABOVE the certain level, administration is kind of the same in any industry. The entry-level job may still be required, but if the person will be primarily responsible for legal aspects of business, he needs a lawyer experience much more than, say, bedside nursing.
People who manage nurses actually do need to know quite a bit about the law as it relates to nursing practice, and nurses with bedside experience who become managers/administrators of nurses have incorporated many of these laws into their daily practice and thus possess this knowledge which they apply in their daily practice. This information is not found in general business courses. I only have to go to my state BORN web site and I can spend hours reading the Nurse Practice Act and a whole host of other regulations that pertain to nursing practice, but even more importantly, I am experienced in conforming to these laws in actual nursing practice. Nursing is a highly regulated profession.
Being a non-nursing manager/administrator of nurses without knowledge and practical understanding (nursing experience) of the actual practice issues nurses face, and without knowledge of nurses' scope of practice and other laws that underpin nursing practice (which nurses are bound to in their daily practice) is not substituted for by the general business competencies required by managers/administrators.
I wonder how the ancillary staff feel about nurses thinking they're the best administrators. I can imagine that the finance, legal and engineering depts might have a different opinion of a nurse being their best leader.
Now a director of nurses should be a nurse with working experience as well management training and experience.
From my current course in graduate studies I have learned that everybody else in this course is studying to become a healthcare administrator with the goal of running facilities like nursing homes or in insurances. One person put out that she does not like to take care of patients but would like to run a facility - granted she did a CNA course....
That is scary.
I don't have a BA in busAdmin, in fact I took no more than one econ class in college, but if I ever own a nursing home (almost zero % chance since I'm not that entrepreneurial), I highly doubt I would hire an Administrator--the highest paid person in LTC/SNF--to do patient care.
I wonder how the ancillary staff feel about nurses thinking they're the best administrators. I can imagine that the finance, legal and engineering depts might have a different opinion of a nurse being their best leader.
Now a director of nurses should be a nurse with working experience as well management training and experience.
Well, it is because nurses are so passionate about nursing that they often times get tunnel vision and momentarily forgot to look up the job description for 'adimistrators.'
When working as a CNA at two SNF's, none of the four administrators had prior health care background, I got curious back then and googled 'how to become a health care administrator' and the requirements quelled my curiosities.
Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
I'm a psychiatric nurse and in my last two positions my supervisors have been social workers. The last one was a crisis residential facility and the one before that was a psychiatric medication clinic. Of course these supervisors knew little of nursing and were woefully inadequate as supervisors.
I'm in the same boat. My boss is an MSW, his boss is an MSW, and HIS boss is an M.Ed.
I'm in the same boat. My boss is an MSW, his boss is an MSW, and HIS boss is an M.Ed.
OMG. That was the weirdest interview I ever been in. All the times I tried and tried to establish some kind of rapport, but no go. At the end of the interview, I asked for their business cards, thanked them.
After I got to my car, I looked at said business cards, and it hit me: LCSW and FM Therapist.
That is so common in our setting. I remember I had a non clinical administrator somewhere I worked.
It was difficult to process things, he couldnt understand the urgency of medical things, the need for such such equipment, the need for quick decisions etc. It was hassle.
Now at least, there is a bachelors degree in health sciences management enrolling people with medical background. We hope things to change with them in the system now.
I am just a puzzled how having an RN is enough to be in management. It seems to me that unit managers and up should REQUIRE some college courses in management and direct employee supervision. All management should know how to be professional when dealing with staff. Unfortunately I have found that to be more rare then 4-leaf clovers. Just my opinion......carry on.
Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.
I'm sorry but I don't think it necessary that they need to have clinical experience. No offense but this seems just like more lobbying about how nurses are needed at every position. Nurses can make great administrators but non nurses can too
Totally disagree. If a supervisor/manager/administrator cannot do the jobs of the people they supervise, then they are not able to be entirely effective leaders. How could a supervisor know the appropriate area for cuts or the areas that need grown, if they don't know the actual working position. For a manager to really understand their area they need to be able to 'walk the walk'.
Susie2310
2,121 Posts
I suspect he/she meant that nurses who move up the corporate ladder have a sense of responsibility to the clinical staff and these nurses won't just be "Yes" people in meetings.