MHA 614 Policy Formation & Leadership in Health Organizations

Research has a broad definition and often has completely different meanings depending on the group involved. According to Merriam-Webster, research is the careful and diligent search of a specific topic; it involves the collecting of information about a particular subject (“Research – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary”, n.d., p. 1). On a broad level, all researchers seek to further understand a specific subject-matter. However, the approach to research varies greatly throughout each community. Some researchers use evidence-based data, analyzing and drawing conclusions while others generate their own data through experimentation or mathematical theory. On a masters level, research is often based on statistical data used to validate a point the author is trying to express. One such example is the graph on page 31 of Harrington’s “Health Policy: Crisis and Reform in the U.S. Health Care Delivery System,” here the author provides an excerpt wherein the writer is attempting to validate their view that national health care will never work in the U.S. (Harrington & Estes, 2008, p. 31).

Health care research in the workplace setting is applicable as it provides a means to validate and define standards of care, legal requirements and health policy. Regulation of research is also a critical foundation that must be upheld to prevent abuse and ensure valid data. Shaw describes how research has increasingly become more regulated and formalized as governments have moved to protect the public and ensure more accurate data is produced (Shaw, n.d., 2005, p. 1). Although not currently working in a health care setting, I am a nursing student and will be working in a hospital environment. Health care research will have many applications in the hospital setting.

As it relates to standards of care, health care research significantly impacts how nurses and physicians perform their defined tasks and apply their scope of knowledge. Research enables improvement in treatment and often times completely changes the treatment for disease. My professor explains one such example of a change in treatment based on health care research. Previously, the standard treatment for gastroduodenal disease was often surgery to remove a portion of the lower stomach/duodenum which was thought to be defective. However, it has since been discovered that the root cause for this disease is the helicobacter pylori bacterium, anti-biotic medication will remove the bacterium and the symptoms associated with the disease will cease.

Second only to standards of care, health care research has a direct impact on health policy formation, not on in a hospital setting but in government legislation designed to protect patients and regulate the operations of medical facilities. Health policy formation by leadership must seek all relevant and validated research to ensure that decisions are fully vetted and all stakeholders and possible implications are considered before a final decision to implement or change health policy is made.

Health care managers work in an extremely complex work environment with many stakeholders. Health care leadership roles have to manage the care of patients while still ensuring the safety of staff and all while maintaining strict legal and ethical requirements and standards. Isaac explains that a health care manager cannot be fully prepared for a life-time career of health care management by an academic program alone. Managers must commit to further growth and professional development in the highly dynamic health care environment; this commitment requires health care research on an on-going basis (Isaac, 1995, p. 5). Therefore, leadership development must include a component of health care research. It is the fiduciary duty of health care leadership to stay informed of new legislation, new standards of care and be aware of new health epidemics.

Health care research is a critical component in designing professional development opportunities. As mentioned early, an academic program alone does not afford a healthcare manager the tools essential to have a successful career in health care management. Often times, health care leadership creates their own opportunities by combining both evidence based and a clinical based skill sets. This allows the combination of academic knowledge and clinical experience that can be utilized when developing health policy and managing standards of care.

Research is a requirement in any successful career endeavor. Beyond the academic requirements associated with most careers, there are certain skill sets that cannot be learned by reading and instead require hands-on experience. Furthermore, and more specifically in the health care arena, research is required by all staff. This research includes continuing education, medical seminars and recertification classes. Research is essential in health care.

References

Harrington, C., & Estes, C. L. (2008). Health Politics and Political Action. In Health policy: Crisis and reform in the U.S. health care delivery system (5th ed., pp. 1-13). Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Pub

Isaac, W. W. (1995). Managing in health care institutions: The issue of professional development for managers of a changing environment. Michigan State University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 157-157 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304233110?accountid=32521. (304233110).

Research – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). In Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved January 21, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/research

Shaw, S., Boynton, P. M., & Greenhalgh, T. (2005). Research governance: Where did it come from, what does it mean? Royal Society of Medicine (Great Britain).Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 98(11), 496-502. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/235016173?accountid=32521