Running a department in a hospital or healthcare establishment is a busy, stressful and all-encompassing job to say the least. If you are hoping to get into this type of industry one day or progress into this role, you will need to possess certain qualities. If you want to succeed as a hospital manager it’s important to keep an open mind and have a lot of patience as you carry out your day to day workload. As well as this, you also need to consider working on some of the following attributes.
- Organisation
Being organised as a manager in a hospital is a fundamental skill you need to constantly hone in on. You will be in charge of managing several staff in a busy healthcare setting so you need to feel confident that you are organised enough to handle it all. For example, you will need to stay on top recruitment and maintain the right level of staffing for your needs. Creating a good relationship with a Care Agency will help you to stay on top of this element of organisation. Having the right team of people in place will help make your life much easier as you will have proficient and experienced team members.
- Resilience
Resilience is one of the most important character traits you need to possess if you’re going to take on a leadership role in a hospital. You may be faced with difficult decisions and you could experience many traumatic situations whilst working in a healthcare setting. Being able to put previous experiences behind you and move forward is a difficult skill to master, but it will benefit you in the long run.
- Communication
In most jobs it is key to be good at communication, but a hospital manager needs to be able to talk with a whole host of different people in the right way. Being a good communicator is all about choosing the right tone for the scenario and allowing others to feel heard in the process too. If you aren’t a natural communicator this skill can be practised, but it can take time to hone in on your important career skill.
- Compassion
Compassion is something that everyone working in a healthcare environment should possess to a certain extent. Although you have to distance yourself from each scenario in a way, you also need to provide the best possible care to each patient and understand what they are going through. As well as having compassion for the people in the hospital, you also need to show the same feelings towards the rest of your team. They will be working long hours and dealing with tough situations, so it’s important to listen to them and make them feel understood too.
Working on these qualities and attributes on a day to day basis will not only help you feel more confident in your job, but it will also maintain excellent motivation levels in your team. When your employees feel supported and heard, their standard of work will reflect this. Finding a happy medium between working on your own professional skills and supporting your team with theirs is the key to succeeding in this type of role in the healthcare industry.
