When clinical skills are not enough by Dr. Florence Jaguga
In medical school you learn how to be a doctor. You are taught how the body works and the signs and symptoms of disease. Your skill set, therefore, focuses on how to make a clinical diagnosis and prescribe treatment to a patient. These skills are well-taught and examined throughout medical school. At graduation, doctors are therefore often well-equipped for clinical practice.
Once out of medical school and internship, doctors sometimes get thrust into management positions such as medical superintendents or heads of department. Such positions come with several challenges that differ from those faced when making a clinical diagnosis. Often doctors in management positions have to think about missing hospital supplies, staff shortages, departmental budgets, etc.
Dealing with these problems needs a different skill set. Doctors need skills in hospital management. For example, they need to know and understand how procurement processes run or how budgeting is done.
There is another set of skills that in my own experience is king which is people management. Doctors who are managers need to know how to manage competition from peers, how to manage different staff interests and motivations, how to manage passive aggressive behavior, how to manage staff resistance to change and how to manage conflict.
Here are ten lessons from my own journey:
1. First, expect that it will be challenging to manage people and be open and willing to learn. Listen to online videos, read widely, and attend leadership and management trainings. Importantly, be ready to learn from your mistakes.
2. Involve your team early in the change process. Ensure to get as much buy-in as possible. Everyone likes to be consulted and to be involved in decision making processes. This route is often slower, but the outcomes will be more solid and long-lasting.
3. We all have egos. Yes, we do. People like to be praised in public and criticized in private. It is ok to massage egos here and there occasionally.
4. Deal with conflict as soon as it surfaces. Avoidance keeps conflict simmering and things often get out of control. In addition, it is tough to get to the root of a conflict when it is left unresolved for long.
5. To prevent conflict and ensure productivity, a manager should ensure proper communication of roles, responsibilities and expectations. The manager should also ensure that the facility or department has a clear organogram, and that there are clear channels of communication. These things ought to be put in place right at the beginning and continuously communicated throughout the life of the project or task.
6. Point out areas that need improvement among staff as promptly and as clearly as possible. Negative feedback can be tough to give. But give it nonetheless to ensure the team is effective. The sandwich approach is one useful way of giving feedback. This approach entails giving negative feedback “sandwiched” between two positive ones to reduce the blow of the criticism.
7. Learn how to manage different personalities. In my experience, some of the most challenging personalities to handle are the ones high in narcissism traits, those low on agreeableness, and those who frequently exhibit passive-aggressive behavior. Clear communication of expectations, and consistency is important when handling staff with these traits. Making them project or task leads from time to time can also be helpful.
8. Understand that you will often have to support staff with their personal, social, and mental health problems. Be ready to give a listening ear and to guide them towards a solution.
9. Learning how to manage people can be a long and tortuous journey. Often in the early stages you will fail at it. Forgive yourself for those mistakes, learn from them, and move on.
10. Finally, make sure to prioritize your own wellbeing. Managers often work longer and more than other staff. In order to remain productive and effective, it is important that managers take care of their own wellness. Ensure to take time off work, eat healthy, have adequate sleep, and take up a hobby.
Overall, despite its challenges, management presents an opportunity for immense learning and personal growth and should be embraced by doctors.