Background information
I work as a staff assistant at a healthcare facility, and my role as an administrative assistant is an exceptional combination of direct and indirect patient-related responsibilities. I’m always the first person, and I interact with the patients upon entering the healthcare facility. Being a master’s student, I teach myself several skills and gain practical skills required to assume my future occupation as a practice manager in a healthcare facility. Currently, there’s so much required of me as a staff assistant. Still, the primary skills include having basic accounting and math skills, a more robust computer, data entry, office management capability, and attention to detail and solving problems.
While working as a staff assistant in the hospital, several patient files were missing, leaving both the patients and the medical officers unhappy with the situation. As a result, it led to poor coordination as there was no standard format to follow in managing patients’ information and attending to them. I, therefore, researched how to solve the administrative problem that was evident at that particular moment. My primary motivation behind selecting the project was to prepare myself for future administrative responsibilities. Therefore, conducting a project on improving the health care facility was most essential.
Goal and Objective of the Project
The principal goal behind this project is to increase health care efficiency and improve service delivery. Because in every service sector, customer satisfaction is a vital element that needs to be emphasized. From this situation, there were many complaints from the patients on how they were not satisfied. This became a key element as a staff assistant to develop the project aiming to increase patients’ satisfaction through increased efficiency in the coming years (Hoe & Mansori,2017). To meet the set goal, several objectives have to be completed, such as ensuring that there are adequate data entry devices, thus developing an efficient data management system. Similarly, I have to improve the office management capability to ensure that every activity is documented.
Level of the System
I’m working in a primary level of care hence am part of the first point of contact for the healthcare system when it comes to administrative functions. The healthcare system is a community hospital with many patients flooding the hospital each day as the facility attempts to ensure the most outstanding level of health and equal distribution by emphasizing people’s needs at the earliest time possible (Kanavos et al. 2019). The health care system has various elements such as comprehensive, integrated health services that hold both primary and public health. It also empowers people, families, and communities to boost social participation and ensure self-reliance in health.
Steps Used in Organizational Development
Identification of the organization’s needs is the first step in organizational development. I get to familiarize myself with the surroundings and know both the strengths and weaknesses of that organization. The first thing I did while in the healthcare facility was to generalize the situation to find the real challenge. It was then that I realized there was inefficiency and customer dissatisfaction in the HealthCare that needed an urgent response. Since there were no facts about the problem, I had to ascertain if the problem existed statistically.
The next step is contracting or looking for ways to address the needs identified (Carnevale, 2018). The main element is becoming objective and thinking strategically about several solutions before deciding on the best solution. In this case, it is advised not to make rash decisions but to take time and scrutinize each decision. ISO framework can be employed that provides several questions to assist evaluate the organization against. Another important step is collecting data to have factual information on the investigated problem; I made surveys to determine whether the customers were satisfied with the healthcare services and to the staff to know of their challenges in providing services. Through this, I made a rational decision concerning the subject matter.
When it comes to intervention choices, four interventions can be adopted: a human intervention that deals with coaching people or conducting training programs and even facilitating individuals to do things in diverse ways. There is a business intervention that comprises business process engineering; the human resource intervention emphasizes the performance management process as it uses psychometrics to detect the personality of service providers. Another intervention is strategic process intervention that deals with cultural change or transformational plans which I have to choose the best intervention that suits the organization’s needs.
The next step is implementation, where it is recommended that a structural approach be taken to deliver the best solution. I have to make sure that all the essential aspects are managed well to enable the successful implementation of the intervention. The final stage is evaluating the solution provided. It becomes a success when all the steps are correctly followed from the beginning and having the correct objectives that can assist in reaching the suitable solution.
The outcome after the evaluation is that the solution of improving data management systems and office management in the healthcare system are significant towards achieving the general goal of efficiency in the healthcare facility. There have been minimal complaints after the identified problem was solved, and now both patients and the medical officers are satisfied. The possible steps in the future have an HR department in the primary health care to assist in solving problems that arise between employees and patients.
Personal Insights
Public health organizations and professionals make the world a healthier place as its critical value (Brownson, Fielding & Green, 2018). The assignment has enabled me to make early preparations for becoming a practice manager some years to come through the immense dedication and willingness to help people who require medical help. Through the assignment, I have experienced and acknowledged public health in its global interest to improve well-being via family planning and vaccination, hence a positive impact. My peer coach has been influential and crucial towards my growth in becoming a practice manager. Also, we had a positive relationship that assisted me in learning great things from him. Before meeting him, my scope as a staff assistant was smaller. Still, with his coaching styles, I understood that it was a preparation for my future career when I would be able to manage costs, delivery, and the quality of healthcare provided in a healthcare facility.
References
Brownson, R. C., Fielding, J. E., & Green, L. W. (2018). Building capacity for evidence-based public health: reconciling the pulls of practice and research push. Annual review of public health, 39, 27-53.
Carnevale, D. G. (2018). Organizational development in the public sector. Routledge.
Hoe, L. C., & Mansori, S. (2017). The effects of service quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty: evidence from the Malaysian engineering industry. International Journal of Advanced Engineering and Management Research, 2.
Kanavos, P., Parkin, G. C., Kamphuis, B., & Gill, J. (2019). Latin America Healthcare System Overview. A comparative analysis of fiscal space in healthcare.
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