5 Characteristics of a Successful Healthcare Project Manager

Five characteristics of project managers in healthcare

Planning
Leadership
Communication
Team Building
Decision Making

Healthcare organizations utilize workers in healthcare project management to transform and globalize to keep up with industry, consumer, and technology trends such as electronic health records. A healthcare project manager can have a rewarding career and job satisfaction while being involved in planning and analyzing logistical data, clinical trials, and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) performance. Project management characteristics are important because project managers need to be at the top of their game because the stakes are higher, external partners are more involved and team members come from different cultures and continents. Here are five characteristics of project management that every project manager in healthcare needs.

1. Planning

The healthcare program manager must deliver results on time and within budget while within tight schedules and with limited material, financial and human resources. Strategic planning is one of the most important activities for healthcare managers, so the project manager should use a detailed and systematic approach each time. Without standardized methods, tracking tools and follow-ups, risks increase, tasks are unfinished and money/time are wasted. Establishing a feasible and flexible master project plan, such as a Gantt chart, will help the project manager in healthcare services continually re-prioritize tasks, schedules, and milestones.

2. Leadership

Healthcare leadership is a key characteristic because modern projects are comprised of multiple stakeholders with different motivations, personal goals, and competing objectives. Excellent healthcare management leaders must not only inspire their team to do their best and achieve project outcomes but monitor performance and progress every day. Health services managers know that leadership involves mentoring, micro-managing, and disciplining staff when needed. Healthcare managers must be leaders and must know when to sometimes trust and empower employees, but also when to confront and conflict manage them.

3. Communication

Communication skills cover how health services managers or a project manager communicates and how team members communicate with each other. Messages that project managers send may be misunderstood by other healthcare managers, so it’s critical to establish clear communication protocols that cover formats, deadlines, follow-up, etc. Being a results-driven communicator in healthcare leadership will help health care project managers because so much of their duties and interactions need objective information and consistent structure. Train employees in the healthcare industry on how to ensure that the 5Ws/1H are preemptively answered when communicating updates, proposals, and reports. Healthcare managers need a communication style that is clear and concise to get the job done.

4. Team Building

It has never been harder for healthcare managers to build efficient and effective project teams because so many stakeholders involved will be at different locations, on different schedules, and within different organizations or healthcare facilities. Healthcare administrators need to ensure that the first building block of team building is creating an environment where members understand their roles and execute their duties while also accepting authority and each other. Once a clear unity of purpose has been established and social bonds have been created, health services managers can ensure the project’s objectives are real and meaningful. Leadership styles among health services managers can vary greatly, but building an effective team of healthcare professionals and others to get the job done is imperative.

5. Decision Making

As a project manager healthcare worker, hundreds of decisions to improve the healthcare organization or healthcare facility must be made every day. Complex and major decisions can be processed and finalized through standard decision-making models. This includes analysis models, such as grid and fishbone, as well as decision trees and thinking hats. Risk management matrixes help project managers identify contingency planning gaps, the consequences of decisions, and the importance of individual factors. Good decision making honors the lessons of the past while being open to new tools and technology.

Project management in healthcare is a complex position that requires many skills to manage the many project characteristics. Two additional characteristics that a health care project manager needs include negotiation and influencing skills. Program manager healthcare workers must often bargain and achieve consensus, so they should know how to create win-win situations for everyone involved. Influencing is a softer social skill but is important to assertively achieve daily goals.

FAQ’s

What education would help me to get a job in this healthcare management field?

A bachelor’s degree is required, typically in business, project management or related field. Since this role is specific to health care, workers may have a health care background. Some may go on to get a master’s degree.

Although it may not always required, professional certification is a demonstration of competency and may help land a job in this field. The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers several certifications in project management for people at various experience levels, including the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Certifications typically require continuing education and professional development.

What are some other qualities to work in health care as a project manager?

In addition to the five characteristics, these characteristics will also help those work as a healthcare manager:

Analytical skills help project managers in health care be able to understand large amounts of data and other information.
Critical-thinking skills help to determine strategies that would work best for a project, and determine how it would impact project goals.
Interpersonal skills help the project manager to establish trust with their team and clients, and helps them to respond well to their questions and concerns. Clinical managers need interpersonal skills to manage their medical staff well.
Organizational skills for a project manager in health care involves balancing responsibilities while completing their project.
Problem-solving skills for a project manager in health care is imperative to help them be able to handle difficult and unexpected situations and find solutions to the problems that come up.
Time-management skills help the project manager work under tight deadlines and use their time well in order to complete their project on schedule.

How is the job market and pay in this field?

Jobs in healthcare and public health are expected to grow at a much greater rate than all other jobs, according to labor statistics. Labor statistics from the federal government site BLS.gov reveals that health administration and clinical managers and others working in health services or as a healthcare manager can expect robust job growth. The median annual wage for Project Management Specialists is $94,500 as of May 2021. Medical and health services managers can expect a median annual wage.of $101,340. Besides work as clinical managers and other healthcare providers and healthcare managers, the healthcare field is a growing one.

MPH staff, 2023

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Source: Forbes