Comprehensive Report on Essential Healthcare Professional Skills

This report delves into the essential skills required for healthcare professionals, emphasizing their importance in delivering quality patient care and navigating the complexities of the healthcare environment. It examines seven key skills: management, leadership, team building, communication, conflict resolution, and work ethics, highlighting their interconnectedness and impact on organizational effectiveness. The report discusses the role of management in overseeing various departments, implementing updated technology, and ensuring organizational goals are met. It explores leadership styles, the significance of team building in coordinated patient care, and the necessity of effective communication for accurate information exchange and building trust. Furthermore, the report addresses conflict resolution as a critical skill and underscores the importance of work ethics, including ethical decision-making and adherence to principles such as autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. The conclusion reinforces the importance of these skills for healthcare professionals in providing high-quality care and adapting to the evolving healthcare landscape.

Running Head: HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS 0
Health Service Management
Student Details
12/31/2018

Healthcare Professional Skills 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Role of Management Skill in Healthcare...................................................................................3
Role of Leadership Skill in Healthcare......................................................................................4
Role of Team Building Skill in Healthcare................................................................................5
Role of Communication Skill in Healthcare..............................................................................5
Role of Conflict Resolution Skill in Healthcare........................................................................7
Role of Work Ethics Skill in Healthcare....................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
In rapidly changing world, there is need of best skills and practices that ensures
quality care to the patient. Patients have become sensitive and they need to be handled with
care and empathy. It has been realised that there are gaps in a number of skill areas which
include communication, leadership, team building, conflict resolution, and many other. These
skills are necessary and basics for the healthcare professionals (Healthcaremba, 2018). This
report is discussing the importance and role of these skills in individual healthcare
professional in order to deal with patients, reducing challenges in organizations, and clinical
issues to provide better and enhanced services to the patients. Here, seven skills are discussed
which include leadership, communication, work ethics, management, conflict resolution, and
team building. These skills are inter related and lack of any skill in healthcare professional
results in effecting other skills too (Nursingtimes, 2015). Below is the diagram that shows
dependency of one skill on the other.
Source: (Skillsforhealth, 2018)

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Role of Management Skill in Healthcare
Management skills are the most important skills that are required in almost every
single business. In healthcare industry too it is very important as having poor management
skills lead to the life and death of patients. Hospitals and its staff needs specialised training
and professional maintenance that comes with study and implementation of management
skills in healthcare. Hospitals have different departments and healthcare mangers need to
oversee all the departments (Brightonsbm, 2018). Hence, it requires them to be capable of
creating unique approaches for the many challenging situations so that it ensures success and
profit of hospitals.
Today healthcare industry has entered into a more challenging era. Newer services in
all departments put increased demand on employees of healthcare. Therefore, there is need of
updated management with advanced technology that can transform healthcare services into
digital era. In healthcare organizations, necessary tasks in order to produce services require
coordination of various disciplines that must work together. It is the job of mangers to make
certain that all the tasks are performed seamlessly and in the best way possible that ensures
organizational objectives and goals to be achieved (Aiuniv, 2018). A proper management
ensures managing information, time, materials and space; and maintains high motivation and
positive attitude. Henri Fayol described four managerial functions that are must for managers
at all levels: Planning, organising, leading, and controlling. Planning set the goals in
healthcare that are providing best service to clients and makes maximum profit for the
hospital and describes the best way to achieve them. Health organizations are complex and
have large hierarchy. Organising ensures proper arrangement and allocation n of work within
the organization. Leading is important in healthcare as it motivates employees to perform
tasks and provide satisfaction to clients with services. Controlling ensures implementation of
planned activities and rechecks client’s satisfaction (CareerBuilder, 2017).

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Role of Leadership Skill in Healthcare
Over the last few years there have been lot of new laws implemented in healthcare
sector that have changed the way of the way of working of healthcare providers within an
organization. These changes in healthcare have put a lot of pressure on the existing
infrastructure and it has increased the need of new management techniques that are able to
lead teams through this transition. In today’s competitive environment, it requires physicians
who are leaders in healthcare to be effectively lead teams in such a way that balance changes
(Nohria & Khurana, 2010). To achieve these changes in demands requires change in
leadership style.
A physician has intelligence, determination, self-confidence, and integrity- all of these
attributes are characteristics of trait theory of leadership. In addition to having right
personality characteristics, it is also needed having them appropriate technical skills to be
considered a leader. Trait theory says that certain people are born leaders and compliment to
trait theory is skills approach. Skills approach says that effective leadership depends on three
basic skills: conceptual, technical, and human (Sfantou, et al., 2017). Due to the extensive
training that a physician must complete and the experience and skills they possess make them
naturally great leaders. While vice versa is not true that what makes a physician a great
doctor would also make them a great leader. Today with changing healthcare practices, right
leadership that match with changing demands is described with contingency theory. Here
effectiveness of a leader depends on how well a leadership style fits in context. Earlier lone
ranger approach was in practice but today this style of leadership is not considered to be
effective. But according to studies, in healthcare a leader who has ability to manage conflict,
motivate, and communicate and also who has a positive impact on patient, staff, and
organizational outcomes can be an effective leader (Dodson, 2017).

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Role of Team Building Skill in Healthcare
In order to provide better services to the patients in healthcare depends on the
coordinated work between different departments and between different personnel. A good
team building ensures all members of a team understand and work towards a shared purpose
of working and caring of patients. Building an efficient and responsible team is a
responsibility of team leader but a good team is not formed until each and every member is
committed to work as a team member and performs his/her job fully (Nursingtimes, 2015).
Every team passes through different levels of development but a team is at its most
productive level when there is trust and openness. For this team leaders need to develop
teaming strategy that will plan how colleagues will work and act together. In an effective
team, all team members including patients communicate with each other and merge their
expertise and observations that results in optimized patient’s care. To deliver exemplary
health care, team work is best method for that. When healthcare providers work as a team,
they become more responsive to changes. In case if condition of patient worsen, everyone in
the team works together and carried out their respective duties to solve the problems
(Healthcaremba, 2018). Doctors, nurses, and assistants all work as a team and ensure
elimination of mistakes that lead to improved patient outcomes. Working as team ensures that
everyone is performing their duties that results in overall satisfaction patients. In a team,
everyone is clear about their roles, leads to less confusion about treatment plan of patient.
Also patient gets clarity about his treatment (Ray, 2018).
Role of Communication Skill in Healthcare
Effective communication is must in healthcare practices. To know the details and the
important information from patient, effectively communication is required from physicians
and medical staff. The medical staffs get to know about patient and his purpose of visit,

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physician learns more about the patient’s concern and address his issues, and patient learns
about his health issues and solution for them, through effective communication. Proper
communication allows everyone to get required knowledge more clearly. Good
communication skills are must for every healthcare professional and not just only for
psychologists and social workers. Characteristics of good communication skills include
active listening, appropriate response to the needs and concerns of patient, properly
assessing patient’s body language, and having a non-judgemental attitude (PCC, 2016).
Failing of properly knowledge exchange can lead to risk to the patient’s health.
Therefore, to improve patient care, knowledge exchange among healthcare professional is
emphasized. One example for this, exchange of knowledge during the shift change is a
lengthy process. To mitigate this drawback knowledge exchange allows meeting of nurse at
the patient’s bedside instead of the nurse station. This process ensures patient’s involvement
in their care (Rajashree, 2011).
While dealing with patient and his family members, it is important for healthcare
professionals to build trust and rapport which can be achieved through compassion, empathy,
and understanding approach. Good communication skills of healthcare professional eliminate
mistrust and miscommunication (PCC, 2016).
Some practices that can be implemented to ensure good communication involve plans
to deal with different personalities: every person is unique and therefore, make sure not to
respond or react to people who are harsh and test ones patience. Always think that, they still
need understanding, empathy, and care; active listening skills: listen more and talk less is the
motive of this strategy. Listen to the patient’s query and do not show any kind of uninterested
and defensive behaviour through body language; take notes of patient’s information because
it is worse to forget information of patient (HHS, 2016).

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Role of Conflict Resolution Skill in Healthcare
Conflict Resolution is more dependent on team building and effective communication
skills of healthcare professionals. Conflict is defined as a disagreement between two people
or subgroups which can also include some kind of dissatisfaction and bitterness. High quality
care is ensured for patients’ when healthcare professionals understand each other and work
effectively as a team, while on other hand, if vice versa exist between healthcare professional
results in worse effects on health and care of patients (Morreim, 2014). Therefore, it is
important for healthcare professionals to have good interpersonal relationships in terms of
listen, cooperation, respect, collaboration, and values or positions of each other. To avoid
conflicts at the workplace, there is need of strong and effective leadership that binds and
ensure smooth working between professionals and ensures better patient care and healthcare
success (Ramsay, 2001). Johansen, in his report says conflicts in healthcare results in more
complicated issues because these involve complex relationships that are based on emotions.
Healthcare professionals have to deal with different human resources having diversity.
Sometimes, nurses work under difficult and stressful conditions which results in negative
interpersonal relationship with other co-workers. These skills can be developed through
education and training to work together. It is the role of a leader to identify the conflict causes
and sources and then should possess skills to avoid them and to improve the quality of patient
care (Shah, 2017).
Role of Work Ethics Skill in Healthcare
Healthcare professionals have to face several challenges related to the ethical
dilemmas. Ethics are based on moral and philosophic principles. Conflicts between the
healthcare professional and patients or between healthcare professionals themselves are
mainly because of poor work ethics. This is going to affect patient care adversely. Therefore,

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to tackle these challenging situations, healthcare professional rely upon a tool naming
“ethical decision making process”. Researches have defined four principles of healthcare
ethics: autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice (Bhanji, 2013).
Autonomy: This principle gives control to the patient over his/her body. This allows
a healthcare professional to only providing an advice or suggestion to the patient and not to
take any decision. If any attempt to persuade patient into making a decision is considered as
violation of principles (SJU, 2018).
Non-maleficence: This means “to do no harm”. This make healthcare professional to
make sure that decisions taken by them should not harm any people or society, even it is
taken for the benefit of the patient (Sheikh, 2007).
Beneficence: This principle states that healthcare providers should provide their best
practices in order to benefit patient in any kind of situation. Every treatment and procedure
recommended to the patient should be with the intention to do the best for the patient. This is
achieved through high skill, knowledge, training and best medical practices (Skillsforhealth,
2018).
Justice: This principle states that all medical decisions should be fair. All decisions
taken by healthcare professionals regarding treatments and resources should consider
applicable laws and legislation (Sheikh, 2007).
Conclusion
It can be concluded that, the above mentioned skills are important for the healthcare
professionals to provide quality care to the patients and hence ensures a healthy community.
Healthcare professionals are also human beings and it requires proper training and education
to develop these skills into them. An effective leadership play a vital role in managing and

Healthcare Professional Skills 9
working of healthcare professionals. It is also clear that each skill is interdependent and hence
absence of one is going to affect the other. Therefore, to ensure growth and profit of
organization and provide quality care to the patient s, these above mentioned seven skills are
necessary for healthcare professionals to possess.

Healthcare Professional Skills 10
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