Foundations of Human Resources in Healthcare Organizations
Q: What are the skills, knowledge, and abilities required to be an effective human resource professional?
In any case, because of their frequent and various interaction with the staff, and effective communication with the management and external companies, communication skills are crucial. Work laws and regulations for healthcare also ought to be understood by HR professionals, for instance, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Krzyzanowski and Manson, 2022).
One of the most crucial traits for effective work performance is coping with several tasks and keeping an accurate record. HR professionals need to retain a fair plan of familiarity with healthcare industry patterns and regulations as well. It is important to focus on battle-solving and critical thinking skills required to deal with the separate tasks and forestall the advancement of disputes in the workplace. Third, strategic thinking is important in the organization when it comes to planning, directing, and coordinating the actions of the HR department to achieve organizational targets according to one point of view, and in enhancing workforce productivity then again.
Q: How is the human resources department structured? Who is responsible for the different functions of the department and what are some of their responsibilities?
Work positions in the human resources department in a healthcare setting encompass several categories, which contain different tasks. At the top level, there is often an HR Director or a Central HR Officer who is in charge of all the actions and initiatives of this department as well as its mission and vision in the organization (Touray, 2021). Below this level, managers are the HR Managers or HR Business Partners and these responsibilities cover explicit areas including recruitment, representative relations, and legal compliance. Recruitment specialists deal with staffing and recruitment of quality candidates within this healthcare industry.
Representative relation specialists rotate around practice and work or take care of issues, give mediational services to those involved in clashes in the workplace, and guarantee that the working climate is healthy. These senior human resource professionals are also involved in the establishment of worker benefits and compensation strategies. Human resource staff and trainers guarantee compliance with the defined approach and in this way, initiate and supervise the training activities. Besides, there can be HR coordinators or assistants who essentially help in organizing the cycle and executing routine work.
Q: What is your role in managing and enforcing healthcare quality standards, such as those put in place by The Joint Commission or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services? Are there other quality standard organizations you interact with?
In my capacity as an HR practitioner working in a healthcare facility, regulating and applying healthcare standards of quality requires certain undertakings. I make sure that each worker is informed and adheres to the guidelines outlined by The Joint Commission (TJC) as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (Abdelmalak et al., 2022). This entails scheduling training meetings on compliance and the right pushes toward following and ensuring that organizational arrangements and approaches comply with existent standards.
I also work intimately with quality assurance departments to guarantee that work satisfies guidelines and to show where it may be lacking. Also, I liaise with other quality standard bodies like the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to guarantee that the laid practices and strategies contravene no standard set constitutionally and internationally. Overall, I advance the standards of greatness and actualization of various training cycles to guarantee that our patients get nothing but the best quality treatments.
Q: What are some of the challenges the organization faces regarding human resources? How important is having a positive organizational culture and advocating for employees when it comes to challenges?
A major issue affecting healthcare HR is the sourcing and retaining of equipped workforce. The industry has been experiencing a shortage of healthcare professionals and this has some implications on the quality of care that is offered to patients as well as the overall improvement of work. Another challenge is that healthcare settings are exceptionally upsetting and employees are always under pressure and worn out. Moreover, regulation changes and staff training are always a worry, as are the costs associated with them. The following challenges are therefore relevant in this unique situation: It is important to have a positive organizational culture to address these issues.
Promoting a culture of inclusion and support is beneficial for employees as it increases satisfaction and engagement, decreases turnover, and mitigates burnout (Makuku and Mosadeghrad, 2022). Supporting the employees by promoting equal treatment, celebrating victories, and giving them chances to advance within the company is in the best interest of the company since it cultivates a loyal and dedicated staff. It is crucial to take note that by promoting a healthy work culture, the organization would be in a better position to manage any HR issues and guarantee that quality care is conveyed.
Q: How can you address these human resources challenges using strategic human resources management?
Managing human resources in the healthcare industry requires a strategic approach to tackling the challenges that are knowledgeable about this sector. For recruitment and maintenance, SHRM can further encourage its recruitment strategies, for example, through collaboration with educational institutions and providing attractive remuneration. To guarantee that new employees adapt effectively to their new roles and feel appreciated in the organization, strong onboarding and mentorship frameworks should be established. To address the issue of burnout, SHRM can think of well-being programs, encourage work-life integration, and offer mental health support (Manpreet Kailay and Kamalpreet Kaur Paposa, 2024).
To guarantee that the organization carries out and agrees with the latest regulations, constant education, and training should be coordinated. SHRM also centers around the utilization of measurement and analytics to make decisions, to determine necessities and opportunities for change. In this way, SHRM associates the HR strategies with the goals of the organizations, such as enhancing patients’ satisfaction and organizational effectiveness, and guarantees that the workforce is ready and willing to face the challenges of the healthcare sector. This alignment is strategic in that it allows the organization to adapt and be ready to face internal and external challenges.
References
Abdelmalak, B. B., Adhami, T., Simmons, W., Menendez, P., Haggerty, E., & Troianos, C. A. (2022). A blueprint for success: Implementation of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services mandated anesthesiology oversight for procedural sedation in a large health system. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 135(1), 198–208. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0000000000006052
Krzyzanowski, B., & Manson, S. M. (2022). Twenty years of the HIPAA safe harbor provision: Unsolved challenges and ways forward (preprint). JMIR Medical Informatics, 10(8). https://doi.org/10.2196/37756
Makuku, R., & Mosadeghrad, A. M. (2022). Health workforce retention in low-income settings: An application of the root stem model. Journal of Public Health Policy, 43(3). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-022-00361-x
Manpreet Kailay, & Kamalpreet Kaur Paposa. (2024). Sustainable Human Resource Management in the hospital sector: A review of literature. Journal of Health Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/09720634231216062
Touray, R. (2021). A review of records management in organisations. OALib, 08(12), 1–23. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=113666
