I want to find out which profession is capable of taking up a management position in a health organization.
Management positions should be held by persons who have been trained in administration and management. It makes as much sense for a clinician to be an administrator as it does someone who trained as an administrator to be a clinician.
Having a background of medicine while handling the administration of a clinical setting is a very good combination. Some people naturally have an ability to be a leader and kind of steer a team. If they are clinicians already and know the disease process they are better able to handle the issues that arise in a hospital. Non clinician will not b able to understand the clinical persoective & issues of the health care setup as well as would be unaware of the problems of the health care providers.
I respectfully disagree with Joyce. We also need to make a distinction here between management and leadership (and for that matter administration). There is a strong evidence base in support of clinical leadership per se but also in favour of clinicians as managers, if, to somewhat acknowledge Joyce's point, they are trained as such. There are many examples in health care systems of clinical leadership and management resulting in improved outputs and outcomes. And clinicians (e.g. Avedis Donabedian) have contributed hugely to management process in the industry. Not involving clinicians in all aspects of management and leadership will lead to poorer systems, worse outcomes and a less motivated clinical workforce. All groups of clinicians can be involved, historically nurses and doctors being in the forefront e.g. Florence Nightingale. Equally we must acknowledge the key role of non-clinical managers who are trained in health care management systems and practice. Additionally, I would suggest that whether managers are clinicians or career managers they must be selected for the capabilities relevant to management and leadership roles. Finally we should recognise that clinical leaders can emerge at all levels and don't need to be senior managers to influence care and systems. My advice to clinicians wanting to change systems is get stuck in and get trained. We need you.
Andrew, Avedis Donabedian had a degree in health administration from Harvard. He completed this degree because he recognized that his training as a clinician did not prepare him to be a manager/administrator.
Do not confuse being a leader with being a manager or administrator.
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