Interview of a Community Healthcare Manager

The field that contributes the most to the most vulnerable citizens in most areas would be the Community Health Center. The amount of interaction and involvement would allow for the opportunity to contribute a great deal of service to those who frequent the center. Caring for the most at-risk group in society leaves the employees working there with a greater sense of fulfillment than many other medical posts.

The subject of my interview was Mrs. Marlene Dowd, it was conducted on April 03, 2014. Mrs. Dowd is the Director of the Springland Community Health Center and has been acting in this capacity for thirteen years. Before acting as Director, Mrs. Dowd was a nurse practitioner at the center for ten years before taking over as the Director. She holds a Master's Degree in Nursing from Regis University.

According to Meadows (2009), one of the biggest risks to any medical staff working in a community health center is going to be the risk of contracting a communicable disease such as tuberculosis. Addressing matters such as these are precisely what Mrs. Dowd received training for, and she mentioned that the main focus therein was consistent tests of staff. Checking whether or not anyone was exposed to TB is as simple as a quick skin-scraping test. If a staff member were exposed, they would have to be treated and cleared before returning to work. Those patients who had tested positive for the disease would be treated in a confined and quarantined environment. These precautions are taken to prevent the spread of TB once it has been detected, and also to ensure that any consequences of a result of infection are not as likely to be life-threatening.

Mrs. Dowd received training in psychology in the realm of conflict resolution. As was observed by Kaufman (2011), there is a wide range of different applications for conflict resolution in the medical arena. Whether it is helping an agitated patient decide on a course of treatment, or discussing the need for a nurse to do a double shift, conflict resolution has a pretty big place in community health. Taking the time necessary to become more educated in this field was a high priority for Mrs. Dowd, who trained alongside a mediator for several months. This enabled Mrs. Dowd to be able to address the concerns of both staff and patients in a way that minimized conflict and agitation.

One of the aspects of community health that Mrs. Dowd was not so prepared for was budgeting, and it proved to be extremely difficult for her to balance the books at first. Despite having a full-time CPA on the books, it was often difficult to make some of the budgeting decisions where the quality of care and work hours were concerned. Being able to keep care expedient and effective for patients proved to be quite a challenge in light of budget constraints proved difficult at times. Mrs. Dowd would usually extend the operating hours of the care center to ensure that everyone who arrived before closing time would be treated. This allowed the quality of care to be maintained, without bringing extra staff on the clock. Mrs. Dowd attended classes in accounting as well as human resources to adjust to the dynamic demands of this medical environment.

Objectivity is one of the largest skills that Mrs. Dowd picked up to maintain the smooth operation of this facility, and she employed it at nearly every stage of operation. Being able to take a step back and avoid the pitfalls of bias or frustration was one of the skills that Mrs. Dowd possesses in abundance. Utilizing it in a way that left everyone involved in a given situation feeling as if they had been treated fairly meant that a problem was not merely 'brushed under the rug,' but instead solved permanently.

Due diligence was another skill that Mrs. Dowd picked up as a matter of necessity, to tracking the activities of Springland in every facet of how it operated. Whether it was balancing the books or following up aftercare with patients, Mrs. Dowd found that writing reminders to herself and other staff helped to keep things running smoothly. The consequences of not following up on the developments that can occur at a community health center can be pretty severe, everything from an exaggerated medical condition to a budget not being balanced when it comes time to pay the bills.

Concerning myself, I believe that I need to increase my sense of urgency and begin to learn more about how to make my motivation infectious. I need to be a leader in my field, without suggesting that others cannot do the job as well as I can. As Kollins-Nakai (2006) mentioned, the welfare of my patients is one of the best reasons to cultivate my strengths as a leader.

References

Kaufman, J. (2011). Conflict management education in medicine: Consideration for curriculum designers. Online Journal of Workforce Education and Development, 5(1), 1-17. Retrieved from http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1101&context=ojwed

Kollins-Nakai, R. (2006). Leadership in medicine. McGill Journal of Medicine, 9(1), 68-73. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687901/

Meadows, P. (2009). Community health nursing. American Journal of Nursing, 109. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2009&issue=01001&article=00005&type=Fulltext