Education for the Healthcare Executive

Discussion in 'Nursing and medical-related degrees' started by NorCal, Sep 21, 2013.

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  1. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    Being that I have been in healthcare for a while now, I've always been curious to see what the executives majored in and where they are now. Being that I'm non clinical, I respect clinical staff for all the gross stuff they do, but personally its just not for me.

    Most executives at my facility have an MBA, MPH, but we even had a CFO with a degree in Computer Science. So that got me wondering, what are you folks noticing at your facilities? Especially with the new legislation, the transition into EHS, and all the crazy stuff healthcare in general is facing as we move forward into the future . . .
     
  2. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    The college degree is not an accurate indicator of an effective manager!

    My guess is the college degree has little if any weight in the decision making process for selecting effective and competent executives in any organization including healthcare! It's just a check mark and a history of proven results in management and leadership will be the determining factor! Of course, politics are always there! The corporation I work for mentors and molds employees for future leadership and management positions. The college degree is certainly required but the emphasis is on proven results!

    In regards to your question of what I have noticed with the "new legislation" (Affordable my a$$ care act), there is a lot of confusion and chaos and it is not a good sign!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 21, 2013
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I generally agree with Delta. There are so many hospitals in Boston (it's a point of pride) that you can't go anywhere in or around the city without meeting people in the healthcare industry. Lots of middle managers have their Bachelors in a clinical area and their primary responsibility is to run a clinical department (Nursing, PT, OT, Labs, etc.). Once you move beyond that level you've got quite a mixed group. Some people with clinical backgrounds and MBAs but LOTS of people who are just hardcore business people. They crunch numbers and they kick people's butts if the numbers don't show up in the black.

    As for the affordable healthcare act, I have never met anyone who actually understands what is going to happen when it clicks into place. Some people think it will be great and some think it will be the end of the world but no one I know actually understands it and can explain it.
     
  4. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    MBA is the most common at the executive level where I work.

    Funny though, my hospital was bought out by a much larger system where the parent company CEO came through the ranks as a nurse. She has never held a job outside the company. The system has begun hemmorhaging cash, deeply in the red now and major cost cutting is being applied. Now the nursing staff is considering unionizing and the Nurse CEO is on the ropes....curious thing to watch.
     
  5. dlcurious

    dlcurious Member

    From what I've actually paid attention to when it comes to the credentials of leadership, those in charge of clinical depts typically come from the ranks of staff performing the task at some point and thus will hold at least a related bachelor's, if not a related master's or a MBA or MHA. Those on the business side may have a BBA or an unrelated bachelor's, and while some may have a master's of some type, a lot of them don't, their experience simply has made them a respected SME in that area. On the IT side it varies, and within my dept (clinical EMR support), a bachelor's of some type is the minimum. A lot of us hold master's degrees, though SM varies. My director was hired with a master's in religion, and our admin director has an engineering management master's.
     
  6. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    You hit the nail on the head! A business is in business to make a profit! Implementation of the ACA is making it difficult if not impossible to run a profitable business. For some reason, there is this belief that making a buck in the healthcare industry is a sin and heaven forbid a healthcare organization shows a profit!

    I have bills to pay and with all the free healthcare I've dished out over the years, not one patient has offered to come and help me. As a matter of fact, they would rather sue me. At best, healthcare is a poor career choice overall!
     
  7. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I recently started eating 10 servings (cups) of fruits and vegetables daily. Why? Even when healthcare is free, it still sucks to need it. Maybe high school health classes should have a unit on the long term costs, (both in money and opportunity) of spending less on your food bill. Maybe actuaries should start teaching those classes. Or hip hop artists, since at least people will get the message. ("I down an apple today to keep collections away- you're daily dosing/diagnosing while I ball out n play.")

    Back on topic- if someone were starting from the ground up, how does one even get into healthcare management?
     
  8. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Start with a clinical degree and move into management or get an MBA/MPH. Our hospital group has leaders with MBA and some with RN/MPH - It just depends.
     
  9. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    I disagree. That is what is so funny about healthcare. In my organization, none of the executives are clinical except for the CNO; but that is not always atypical as seems the case in Randell1234's situation. That's why I poise the question, cause its interesting to read how things are done in other places, cause no two places are alike.

    :scratchchin:
     
  10. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Here are some examples from the leadership of the 12 hospital IDN

    President - MHA, BSN
    President - FACHE master's degree in business administration
    Vice President - master’s degree in human resource management , RN
    President & CEO - master's degree in political science
    president BS in finance / master's degree in business administration
    President - BS public health, health policy and administration / master's degree in business administration
     
  11. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    My hospital is small/medium in size in a suburban setting; here is the educational background of our executives:

    CAO- Master in Business Administration (MBA)
    VP- BA in Marketing.
    CNO- Master in Nursing Administration, RN.

    Our VP is the biggest surprise IMHO, as she came to use from a non healthcare field and immediately took the role as the VP with only undergraduate education. Like I said, I'm curious to see how this differs in other areas as no two are alike.
     
  12. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    Correction, below is the top positions and their degree at my hospital (we are one of 7 hospitals in a system).

    CEO - MHA
    CFO - Master in Finance
    COO - MBA
    CNO - Some sort of Masters in Nursing Admin.

    Facilities Administrator - MBA

    Ancillary Admin - No Masters that I can Find, Bachelors in Respiratory Therapy (our COO position is open and this guy is the in house favorite to fill that role).

    Hospital Administrator - MBA (this guy recently doubled his pay taking a COO role across the country, they haven't bothered to fill his empty position yet).

    There is a big push for nursing supervisors and admin to get their MSN right now, UofP and WGU are making a lot of money on our little 177 bed hospital alone.
     
  13. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    I laugh because we just got a new executive that does not have a clinical background and it shows! He can't communicate effectively with the staff and has no idea about the jargon in the medical field or even the scope of practice of the members of the healthcare team. He thought an EMT can write prescriptions and a PA is an advanced Medical Assistant and had no clue what a DO was. Had no idea of the difference between controlled substances, over the counters and legend drugs. Total bean counter, Very interesting!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 23, 2013
  14. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    Nice! My facilities director marveled at the concept of working three 12 hours shifts a week....and the idea that a company would pay 40 hours for a baylor was absolutely foreign to him. It's curious how closely we work with each other yet tend to remain so far apart.
     
  15. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    It seems commonplace in numerous industries to have executive level managers with no trade experience in the field they manage. Apparently, not very many airlines are run by pilots, hospitals by clinicians or restaurant chains by cooks. Obviously, a generalized MBA with a few accounting courses looks like a qualifier followed by experience and a track record of profitability to move up any corporate ladder. Although I believe having some experience/background in the specific industry can't hurt!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 23, 2013
  16. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Okay, I think you are pulling my leg! Who hired this person????
     
  17. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    I completely agree with the variance. Our VP had a background in radio advertising and a bachelors in Marketing. Now she sits in a VP position in a hospital with zero healthcare experience. This is why I find this topic so interesting. Granted, our VP is doing quite well considering, but I'm sure that is not atypical. Where she excels is in her ability to lead and manage projects, but with no healthcare experience, she sure surprised a lot of us when she came on board.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 24, 2013
  18. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    .............................................
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 24, 2013
  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Basically it's no different than anything else. You start clinical or you start business. If clinical you put in time, doing excellent work then you become a supervisor then and assistant director then a director. It would be a mistake to think that you can do all this within the same system or even within the same city. You do an excellent job all along the line and then you wind up as vp of something. If you start in business then you are a billing machine or an accounts payable machine or an HR machine and you never make a mistake and you make your boss look good. You're in any number of other non-clinical functions within healthcare and you are impeccable and so you move up the ladder, you move between departments, between systems and eventually you become the vp of something.

    Oh, and as I understand it, it doesn't hurt to have slippery social skills and be a decent bullshit artist.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 25, 2013
  20. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    I take great offense to this, as I represent that comment . . . (Just Kidding)

    In healthcare the divide between clinical and non clinical is interesting at times. Clinical staff are much more patent, laissez-faire, or willing to explore possibilities that seem ridiculous. Non Clinical management are more results driven, data driven, and quick to make a no nonsense decision based on the evidence.

    All in all, we tend to balance each other out; but its interesting to be a fly on the wall when decisions are being made at the executive level and you get to watch the back and forth.

    So to answer your question, you need to pick a side. Do you want to work for right Twix, or those losers down at left Twix, lol. Once that is determined, each modality has their prospective model for advancing up the ranks; the only thing that seems universal; do people like you? do you produce results?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 26, 2013

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