Leadership of healthcare organizations is one of the most popular Bachelors degrees in most leading universities across the globe. The popularity and prominence of this multidisciplinary course can be accredited to the mounting recognition of the significance of the link between proper leadership and patient care (Gunderman, 2009). Healthcare is a sensitive and delicate part of the society. This is because healthcare is an essential element of the physical and mental wellbeing of the human race. Since the governments of various nations across the globe started laying emphasis on upright leadership in the management of the health facilities, the quality of care given to patients and casualties of different categories has improved a great deal. This paper seeks to elucidate the several effects of leadership on patient care in light of the veteran affairs sector.
One of the most prominent effects of leadership on the provision of patient care is the better quality of services being offered in hospitals today. The major reason behind this kind of service quality is the fact that management and leadership studies in current universities embrace the concept of total quality management. Total quality management emphasizes zero defects and progressive improvement in the products (Hunt & Rosenheck, 2011). In the healthcare sector, the product is the health services administered to patients. Therefore, total quality is ensured by the leaders who in most cases are either medical staff with long serving experience or academically qualified managers who have specialized in the running of healthcare facilities.
The second effect of leadership on patient care is better priorities and decisions. In the medical field, dilemmas are an integral part of the processes. As such, there is a need for proper decision making. The leaders in healthcare organizations have made possible the process of prioritizing healthcare for patients (Hunt & Rosenheck, 2011). The leadership has as well ensured equal and proper representation of the needs of patients in governmental and non-governmental seminars. Such representation ensures proper decisions are made with regard to patient care in both public and private health facilities. Considering the fact that most of the private patient care facilities are money-driven, it is worth noting that one of the most important effects of leadership on the patient care offered in such hospitals is the reconciliation of the individual needs of patients with the main objectives of the organizations. Such integration has enabled the hospitals serve the patients better since they as well gain from the satisfaction of the client.
Leadership has also had the effect of the proper fund management in hospitals. Following the appreciation of leadership in the healthcare sector, there has been an improvement in the management of funds meant for patient care. Such proper management of finances has made better the delivery of services. Proper fund management impacts positively on the various departments of healthcare, ranging from personnel management to the procurement procedures (Jumaa & Jasper, 2005). Such efficiency promotes the development and effectiveness in the running of the organization. Leadership has gone an extra mile in shaping up procedures and systems that make access of healthcare quite a hassle for a majority of patients. The leaders have worked hard towards ensuring the patient care facilities are well equipped with personnel and other necessary equipments.
The idea of providing a medical benefit scheme for military veterans was conceived in the year 1636 in the state of Virginia. However, it took ages to have a department in charge of the same, established by the government. The department, which is now the second largest after that of national defense, was established in the year 1930 (Gunderman, 2009). Now under the leadership of Erick Ken Shinseki, the department has more than 281000 employees and works on an annual budget of eighty eight billion dollars. The department falls in the same class as the cabinet and is run by the state. The leadership of this organization is strong and emphasizes the vision of Abraham Lincoln, a man who promised to honor the soldiers that fought for America and ensure their well being and that of their families. The vision of the former US president is the vision of the veteran organization.
The leaders at the organization have emphasized visionary leadership that has had many positive influences on the organization and its members. The strong leadership has ensured minimal unnecessary bureaucratic procedures (Jumaa & Jasper, 2005). The bureaucracy that was inherent of the organization a couple of decades ago is no longer in place. The inefficiencies associated with such bureaucracy have since been wiped out by the effective leadership. The categorizing of the various soldiers served under various groups has become easier and more effective with the institution of good leadership.
The effects of such leadership on the services offered to the soldiers that get injured at the battlefield have been conspicuous since the beginning of the war on Iraq. The veteran affairs health services were essential during the Vietnamese war. The leaders at veteran affairs have ensured the observation of ethics of work through the establishment of a standard code of conduct (Hunt & Rosenheck, 2011). The codes of conduct are observed by the patient care personnel as well as the managerial staff. The leaders have as well ensured a proper system or solving various ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas are inherent in all organizations especially those handling healthcare. It is therefore worth concluding that leadership has had positive impacts on the general patient care sector.
References
Gunderman, R. (2009). Leadership in Healthcare. London: Springer
Hunt, M. G. & Rosenheck, R. A. (2011). Psychotherapy in Mental Health Clinics of the Department Of Veterans Affairs. Journal of Clinical Psychology. Vol. 67 Issue 6, P561-573.
Jumaa, M & Jasper, M. (2005). Effective Healthcare Leadership. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
