To kick-off the beginning of yet another session; specifically, HCOP Session 4, thirty (30) undergraduate and ten (10) health professional 2020-2021 Health Careers Ambassador student participants got a chance to participate in an engaging virtual discussion titled “Becoming A Healthcare Leader” facilitated by Richard L. Brown, PhD, FACHE – former Chief Executive Officer of Charles Drew Health Center (a federally-qualified health center - FQHC) located in Omaha, Nebraska.
Hospitals, clinics, healthcare facilities, and healthcare systems are more than just patients and health professionals – there is a huge element that involves leadership, management, and supervision of these hospitals, clinics, healthcare facilities, and health care systems: healthcare administration. To provide more context, healthcare administration is the practice of managing, leading, overseeing, and administering the operation of dynamic, complex health care entities including hospitals, long-term care facilities, health care systems, nursing homes, pharmacies, and health insurance providers. Individuals involved in healthcare administration strive to improve the business of healthcare - an endeavor that starts with sound policy and top-quality patient care.
Dr. Brown shared quite a few tidbits of wisdom covering leadership, healthcare management, mentoring, educational requirements as well the qualities in which all future healthcare leaders must possess in order to be successful within the system. While students had tons of thought-provoking questions for Dr. Brown during the Q&A session, they also expressed during the session two major takeaways from the presentation:
1. The 3M Employee Objectives:
Maximize patient encounters.
Maximize patient satisfaction.
Minimize errors and inefficiencies.
2. The Charles Drew Health Center Organizational Model:
Standards -> Monitor -> Reinforce