By Maria Garcia Ingier
The world of medicine is filled with a lot of fascinating but also challenging bits. If you're in the area of patient care, then balancing data and medical knowledge with human soft skills is paramount. If you're in the area of medical research, then trying to understand analytics and statistics, is massive. If you're in the area of management or leadership, then comprehending how to lead with grace and strength whilst also maintaining balance within the organization is vital. Focusing on the latter point, it's not easy to know how to lead and organize and it's actually something that needs to be learned, which is best done through a degree.
When you come to the level of leadership and organization in medical practices, chances are that you have quite a long history of education and success behind you. Therefore, you're likely coming into it with your undergrad, your honors and your masters already. To improve upon the knowledge that you have, you must take the next step, namely focusing on
online doctorate of education programs that specialize in teaching leadership and organization.
Any type of organizational practice, regardless of what industry it is, benefits from leadership and organization. The tricky thing about leaders is the fact that they often fall into the role, either through chance, luck or oftentimes, nepotism. It is seldom that you see a leader in a position, who has actually been taught the education of leadership and organization. These individuals are few and therefore, their skills are so important to industries, especially to ones that incorporate health, humanity, science and biology – so, medicine.
In a medical practice, there are a lot of things going on. If you've watched any medical show, whether it's Dr House or Grey's Anatomy (although they are far from accurate) it's pretty easy to see the stress and turmoil that can often come about in medical situations. The reason for this is that there is a lot at stake, namely life.
Therefore, those who are put into positions of leadership within the organization of a medical practice need to not only have a natural affinity for it but also need to be educated in it so that they can effectively implement strategies in leadership ideas.
Having a strong leader to ship a medical practice is paramount to its success and also the success of the nurses and patients within the hospital or medical space.
As touched on above, education in leadership and organization is paramount for success. As somebody who perhaps already has their master's degree behind them, an online doctorate program might be an interesting one, as you can focus on honing in on your leadership and organization skills.
You might be thinking to yourselves that you've already got a full-time job in leadership and you don't have the time for the education. This is where an online program can really come in handy because it gives you a lot more flexibility and agility when it comes to trying to reach your goals.
If you had to go back to a university to do your doctorate, chances are, that it would be too time-consuming and tedious, as you're already juggling a 9 to 5. However, with an online degree, you're able to work the number of hours you actually have available in a day. If this means Friday evenings and Saturday and Sundays but dedicated to your program, then so be it. As long as you're not taking time away from your job and you're integrated further education, you're winning.
With the rise of technology and the idea that medicine is also going toward a more data analytic space, a lot of people don't realize, especially leaders, that soft skills remain vital in this role.
In such a science and biology-heavy topic, such as medicine, a lot of leaders gear toward staying analytical. This is quite a pity because when it comes to leadership, humans are not necessarily always analytical and they're not just science, they are individuals with feelings, emotions and occurrences. Therefore, as a leader, you must retain an element of control when it comes to your soft skills. You have to be able to speak and engage with the people that you work with, and the colleagues that you have, in a way that makes them feel understood and empathize with.
There is nothing more important than ensuring that everybody in the team feels welcomed, understood and supported. These are soft skills that a lot of leaders often mistake for weaknesses, especially in this fast-paced, modern and digital world, however, it's the soft skills that really transcend a medical practice from a good one to a great one.
Well, there you have it, you may not have thought that leadership and organisation are massively important in the medical world, however, they form the foundation of how doctors, nurses, caretakers and volunteers engage with each other and with the patience that they care.
It will be interesting to observe how the role of a leader shifts and changes as the years become more digital – only time will tell.