EVALUATING IMPORTANT HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENTCOMPETENCY AREAS AND PREPARATION FOR HEALTHCARE REFORMS

Maria A. Kronenburg Troy University-Global Campus 

ABSTRACT

Healthcare managers are facing rapid changes in the healthcare industry as well as healthcare reform efforts. The purpose of this descriptive study is to investigate what management competencies are important to healthcare managers and to determine gaps between the perceptions of importance and preparation in key competency areas. The five highest rated competencies, rated as very important or rated important were Leadership; Written- verbal/interpersonal communication skills; Ethics; Strategy formulation and implementation; and Health policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. The five lowest rated competency areas, rated as poor or fair, were: Population health and status assessment; Economic analysis and application to decision making; Information Systems management and assessment; Statistical Analysis and Application; and Quality assessment for patient care improvement. Negative correlations may indicate perceived gaps between education and practice. Written-verbal and interpersonal Communication and Organizational Development/Organizational Behavior competencies had negative correlations, but were not statistically significant. It is important to identify competency gap areas to help improve performance and to successfully manage healthcare reforms