Continuous Quality Improvement and Patient Satisfaction in Healthcare

Running head; QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND PATIENT SATISFACTION 1
Continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction
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QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND PATIENT SATISFACTION 2
Continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction
Leadership in healthcare is one of the primary ways in which health care professionals
can improve the quality of care, patient safety and efficiency in the health sector. Leadership is
important tool for directing, organizing and coordinating resources to achieve the best possible
outcomes. In improving quality and patient satisfaction, leadership and management is also
necessary to achieve desired outcomes. This paper focuses on various different approaches to
leadership and management geared towards quality improvement and patient satisfaction in
healthcare.
According to Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, (2018) nursing leadership and management
utilizes various skills theories and approaches towards organizational set up and models of care.
There are several differences and similarities between leaders and managers in the organization
set up. Ideally, leaders tend to lean towards organizational goals and vision while managers lean
towards bureaucracy, organizational rules and policies. Functionally, leaders differ from
managers in the sense that managers accept responsibility while leaders seek responsibility. In
addition, managers always tend to minimize risks while leaders take calculated risks. Lastly,
leaders tend to have a degree of flexibility while managers usually have a fixed mindset. Leaders
are open and daring to venture into new possibilities.
Managers and leaders differ in their level of skills. Managers are skilled at doing the
same things repeatedly and they therefore gain competence, a kind of intelligence known as
crystallized intelligence. On the other hand, leaders may not have so much of crystalized
intelligence but rely on the fluid intelligence, ability to influence others and make the best out of
them in order to meet the demands of health leadership. One similarity however is that both

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND PATIENT SATISFACTION 3
employ various skills that are important to getting a task done argues Miller, McCaw,
Humphreys, & Mitchell, (2015).
Theoretical perspectives of leaders and managers may also be explored to give out a
contrast between leaders and managers. Transformational theory, and creative nursing leadership
best defines leaders while other theories such as role and trait theories may be used to refer and
evaluate mangers. The transformational leadership theory best suites leaders because leaders are
visionary, competent, critical thinkers and they motivate others to utilize their potential to the
fullest. Creative leadership on the other hand also suites leaders as opposed to managers since it
focuses on generating solutions to problems outside the conceptualized ideas and knowledge.
Cherry, & Jacob, (2016) argues that the creative nurse leaders focuses on efficient
communication, team leadership and embracing technology to solve problems. The bureaucratic
selection of managers based on their qualifications can be best apply to the trait theories of
leadership. The basic argument is that people earn these jobs based on inborn characteristics and
traits that makes them best qualified to fit the positions.
Based on the organizational structures, managers operate best in a centralized structure
whereby they are at the center of authority and decision making. Managers work to ensure that
workers stick to the norms, culture and status quo through the organizational structure that
subordinates all other offices below the manager. On the other hand, leaders work best in a
decentralized system where decision making has a sense of autonomy. The work of the leader is
to direct and decisions may be made at the departmental level without necessarily involving the
top leadership (Taylor, McNicholas, Nicolay, Darzi, Bell, & Reed, 2014).
The decentralized structure is more important as decisions can be made in time. Timely
decision making ensures improvement of quality and patient satisfaction by eliminating large