The health care manager
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Providing culturally competent care has implications for health care managers and their organizations that go beyond a simple clinical perspective. The article defines culturally competent care and suggests what the specific strategic implications of delivering such care are. The author suggests the definition of culturally competent care for a health care manager as "the ability of any health care provider of any cultural background in one's organization to effectively treat any patient of any cultural background." Four basic steps are suggested for an organization wishing to develop a program of delivering culturally competent care to include situation analysis, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and strategic control.
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Performance management consists of significantly more than periodic evaluation of performance. It is the art and science of dealing with employees in a manner intended to positively influence their thinking and behavior to achieve a desired level of performance. It is essential for the manager to always model positive behavior concerning performance; what one does or says as a manager always has an influence on others. ⋯ For each task to be done, an employee needs to know what output is expected, how this output will be measured, and what standards are applied in assessing the output. Managing employee performance requires ongoing contact with each employee, regular feedback, and whatever coaching, counseling, and training are necessary to bring an employee back on track when a problem appears. Sustaining efficient and effective employee performance requires the manager's ongoing attention and involvement.
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The health care manager · Oct 2003
ReviewThe causes and consequences of conflict and violence in nursing homes: working toward a collaborative work culture.
Interpersonal conflict, often spiraling to violence and abuse, is one of the most daunting challenges facing nursing home administrators and their departmental heads. Mounting evidence documents how they spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with angry families, adversarial ombudsmen, regulators, and other hostile parties as well as handling the aftermath of the ubiquitous conflict between the residents and their direct caregivers. All this is in addition to coping with the normal interdepartmental and line staff forms of conflict that typify any organization. This paper details the special dynamics that accelerate dysfunctional conflict in nursing homes and presents strategies, tactics, and style recommendations that will help nursing home leaders build more collaborative work cultures to minimize the effects of dysfunctional conflict.
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Medication errors present a significant hazard to patient safety and have been increasingly in the news as studies correlate the nursing shortage and patient death. This article discusses strategies to decrease medication errors and increase patient safety during medication administration.
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The health care manager · Jul 2003
Comparative StudyHospital-affiliated pediatric urgent care clinics: a necessary extension for emergency departments?
This study analyzed whether a children's hospital urgent care clinic helped increase market share. Patient demographics and utilization patterns between the suburban clinic and urban emergency department were compared over a three-year period (July 1999 to June 2002). Using data from a standardized billing form, all patient visits (clinic: 36,924; emergency department: 160,888) were analyzed. ⋯ There was a 3.6% increase in the number of visits in the after-hours clinic and a 1.6% decrease in the number of emergency department visits between year one and year three--data combined giving an overall 4.8% increase in the number of visits. Data show that the offsite urgent care clinic located in a suburban area increased the overall number of visits with a large number of well-insured patients. Additionally, this study provided data on where the clinic could expand medical care for the community.