OR Manager March 2022 - 13

OR Business Performance
Upending stereotypes of nursing operational priorities, abilities
BY SHAWN SEFTON
rior to the advent of nurses in
operational leadership roles, operational
decisions in healthcare
were made by financial and business
executives, as well as physicians, without
full and adequate input from nursing.
Today, nurses have earned their
place at the management table as a
vital part of the outcomes of patients
and to the optimal performance of
healthcare institutions. Still, the feeling
that nurses understand patient care but
do not understand business can still
persist at times.
In hospitals and health systems, the
first nurse managers ascended to operational
leadership because they were
strong staff nurses whose actions demonstrated
expertise in clinical care and
whose voices were recognized as an
important component of quality of care,
patient safety, and the patient and family
experience. As hospital consolidation
started in the 1990s, the need to standardize
operations, systems, and care
processes expanded the responsibilities
of hospital managers at all levels
to take on organizational strategy and
fiscal responsibility.
Clinical operations managers at all
levels face ongoing challenges in a constantly
changing world: balancing the
struggle of providing exceptional patient
care, improving the experience of staff
as they do their work every day, and remaining
profitable. While a strong staff
nursing background is still extremely relevant
to the role, managers must also
understand the financial and business
operations of healthcare and have the
capability to effectively communicate
financial and business concepts.
To prepare for an effective clinical
operational leadership role working
alongside non-clinical executives, graduate
leadership and financial education
is essential. Today's clinical operations
leaders typically require a bachelor's
degree in nursing, and they often hold
a master's degree in nursing or a related
field like business or health adwww.ormanager.com
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ministration.
At the nurse executive or
chief nursing officer levels, most organizations
are also requiring a doctor
of nursing practice, PhD, or doctor of
nursing science. According to the American
Association of Colleges of Nursing,
transitioning advanced registered nursing
programs from the graduate level
to the doctoral level is " a response to
changes in health care delivery and
emerging health care needs, and additional
knowledge or content areas have
been identified by practicing nurses. In
addition, the knowledge required to provide
leadership in the discipline of nursing
is so complex and rapidly changing
that additional or doctoral level education
is needed. "
Operations
managers need to
balance doing
more with less.
Distinguishing managerial types
In my experience, there is an accepted
distinction between the role of a nurse
manager versus a clinical operations
manager. While nurse managers oversee
staff, they make decisions around
patient care initiatives. Clinical operations
managers, on the other hand, are
not typically involved in direct patient
care. Their role is focused on managing
the daily operations of a division or department
and supervising staff. As such,
they must understand the business side
of healthcare management. It should be
noted that while this is an ideal model,
in today's reality of nursing shortages,
clinical operations managers are often
still called upon to deliver care.
Beyond having a medical background,
there are varying views of the
characteristics of a good clinical operations
leader. The nursing master's program
at Benedictine University in Lisle,
Illinois, offers a breakdown on leadership
skills every nurse leader must have
that is extremely relevant. It describes
the following eight traits that nurses
need to become future leaders in today's
healthcare environment:
1. A global mindset. You should be
able to respond effectively to worldwide
healthcare trends and adapt
them to your work on a national,
regional, or local level.
2. A working knowledge of technology.
This is imperative in order to
operate an efficient healthcare service;
you will need to support it with
the right technology.
3. Expert decision-making skills. Decisions
in complex environments
such as healthcare can often be
hard to judge. The process of decision-making
needs to be aligned
throughout the organization.
4. Prioritizing quality and safety. You
must maintain a focus on patient
and worker safety by adopting innovative
approaches and integrating
them into the daily processes of
your division or department.
5. Being politically astute. You need
to make the right political decisions
to succeed, including the ability to
identify the finer details of relationships,
communication, and informal
power structures within your
organization.
6. Collaboration and team building
skills. Good leadership is all about
creating good working relationships,
identifying a common purpose, and
working together cooperatively.
Mentoring, clear communication,
and conflict management will help
you achieve the right balance.
7. Balancing authenticity and performance
expectations. In your role
as a clinical operations leader, you
are likely to be faced with reaching
targets and meeting budgets. By
always being an authentic nurse
leader, you place the patient first.
Continued on page 15
OR Manager | March 2022 13
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