The Mayo Clinic
The Mayo clinic is one of the leading health care facilities in the US and has topped the list of the best health care facilities for many years. The clinic has a dedicated and committed team of nurses who are committed to offering quality health care to its patients. Julie works as a Nurse Manager in the hospital; she has worked as a registered for thirty years, with such experience she is best suited for the job as a nurse manager in a busy clinic. The role of the nurse manager is not an easy task especially in a clinic that has an acute and critical care unit. As a nurse manager, there are various duties that Julie has to perform as part of the hospital’s management team. She has to handle issues that related to the nursing staff in the hospital, handle issues that concern the patients and also issues dealing with the supply of equipment and others necessities required by the nurses and other staff. She is also responsible for ensuring healthy working relationship between the patients and the medical staff; she is, therefore, not only responsible for the nurses but also the patients. Any issue that affects the nurses or the relationship between the nurses and patients has to be addressed to her .She is responsible for ensuring that there is a health working environment between the nurses and all the stakeholders involved in hospital .This is a demanding job, and her day is always characterized by a busy schedule since she has to address any issue that is raised by the nursing and other hospital staff. She has the responsibility of selecting and assigning duties to the hospital staff, evaluating the performance of the employees, assessing the training needs that are needed in the hospital and conducting research on nursing and health education issues within the society.
Mayo clinic is one the leading health care facilities in the US offering diverse medical facilities. The hospital offers both outpatient and in-patient medical services to its patients. It handles patients from the 50 states in the US and over 150 other countries. In terms of ranking, the hospital has been ranked 16th in terms of adult health care provision and 10th in pediatric services. According to a recent ranking, in the US the hospital has been ranked third in terms of cancer facilities and treatment,2nd in cardiology and heart surgery, first in diabetes and endocrinology, second in ear, nose and throat treatment .There were also ranking in other areas such as gynecology where the hospital was ranked first, pulmonology, rehabilitation and urology. The dedicated team of health care providers in the hospital has been able to work together in ensuring that patients are provided with quality health care .Using the modern state of art medical technology, the hospital has continued to be a referral hospital for many patients who cannot get medical care in other hospitals. Other institutions such as medical colleges have been able to work in partnership with the hospital in offering medical training .With diverse resources, the patients are able to get quick health care, and this has enabled the medical team to save many lives. This being a nonprofit operated health care facility; it has also collaborated with the government in offering health services. There are also community outreach programs that the hospital is engaged such as offering training to the society and medical checkups.
The interview with Julie took place in her office after booking an appointment with her. She gave detailed information on the facilities that are in the hospitals and the services offered. From an interview, an overview of the clinic was given as analyzed in this section of the paper .Mayo Clinic is founded by a non-profit organization and is the largest and first and largest integrated health care facility. Julie was also pointed out that the hospital had a teal of dedicated medical staff that put the safety and health of its patients first. After enquiring on the staff that works in the hospital, Julie identified over 3,700 physicians who work as medical physicians, researchers and scientist who offer their services in the clinic.55, 000 allied workers work for the hospital and work in different hospital departments. The hospital has branches in Florida, Arizona and Minnesota .Diversification of the medical care facilities has made it possible for the hospital to diversify it health care services. The hospital has a bed facility of 1,140.Through the interview; Julie was able to take me through a tour of the facilities and different sections of the clinic. The hospital has different wards, facilities, and equipment for used in the treatment of diseases such as cancer, cardiology and other diseases that require specialized treatment. The hospital has been ranked as one of the top hospitals in offering pediatrics health care .During the interview, Julie informed us that the hospital is also a teaching hospital that offers training for doctors and nurses. The hospital has been able to offer, medical services to many patients even those who are not US citizens .Since it is a non-profit based hospital, it can offer quality health care at a lower cost than other hospitals. From an interview, it was clear that many people preferred seeking medical care from the hospital due to its cheap but quality health care services. With a wide number of medical services being offered in the hospital including counseling, many patients prefer the hospital since they can get many services in one medical facility. In terms of challenges, the nurse admitted that the hospital is currently facing a challenge in terms of the ratio of nurses to patients. Nurses are faced with a huge workload due to the high number of patients who visit the hospital. This was a challenge that the nurse manager explained that the Mayo Clinic was not only facing it only; it was a crisis that is being faced by many hospitals in the US. The patient number is increasing, but the number of nurses has been increasing at a very slow rate. As the managing nurse, she has been able to come up with various measures that would be used in tackling the staffing challenge. Through the training programs, the hospital can train and employ the trained nurses in the clinic. Those who train in the hospital are able work part time in the different departments in the hospital, which is a key measure towards reducing the workload for the nurses.
Given a role as a leader the hospital team, I would choose go for the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital; this is the top management position, and I believe it is where the change begins. The C.E.O has much influence on the management of any organization since he is a key decision maker. It is a position that touches on all the departments of the hospital. Being on the management team, I would bring in new energy and ideas in the hospital, which I believe, are essential in maintaining and improving the hospital standards.
The key challenge is staffing; this is a challenge that needs to be addressed and in the C.E.O’s position, and I would introduce internship programs whereby those who are training in the hospital would offer their services to the hospital on part time and full time basis. This would reduce the workload that is being faced by the current nurses. Working with other medical training facilities in would also increase the staff offering medical care in the hospital. There are areas that still need to be improved in the hospital, since it is a non-profit organization; it can be challenging to get enough funding, however, working in partnership with other organizations would make it easier to get funding. Engaging in preventative health care rather than curative would improve the quality of life for alienating the staff in implementing these decisions would create a healthy working environment in the clinic.
References
The Mayo Clinic plan: 10 essential steps to a better body & healthier life.. (2006). New York: Time Inc. Home Entertainment Books ;.
Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). US News. Retrieved April 7, 2014, from http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/mn/mayo-clinic-661MAYO/details
Mayo Clinic book of alternative medicine: the new approach to using the best of natural therapies and conventional medicine.. (2007). New York: Time Inc. Home Entertainment.
