Rationale and Explanation
One of the problems related to healthcare administration and management is labor shortages in U.S. hospitals. The focus is not only on nursing shortages but on problems with recruiting and retaining talented physicians to work in healthcare facilities, including those located in rural areas (DesRoches et al. 672). Healthcare administrators and managers are interested in attracting more talented physicians to address labor shortages in their facilities. Still, limitations associated with the policy regarding licensure requirements do not provide healthcare administrators with many opportunities to recruit internationally educated physicians (Gordon 95). To successfully compete in the industry, hospital administrators and leaders focus on developing strategies in the context of the existing national and state healthcare policies to address labor shortages (Yee et al. 2). The purpose of this qualitative study project is to investigate what particular strategies implemented by healthcare administrators to address labor shortages in hospitals are effective to resolve the issue.
Methodology and Instruments
To address the purpose of this project and collect qualitative data, it is necessary to conduct interviews with healthcare administrators and managers of five local hospitals, where labor shortages associated with the medical staff are reported. Semi-structured interview protocols with only a few questions will be used to guide conversations about effective strategies applied by leaders to address the problem. Interviews will be recorded with the help of an Olympus digital recorder. The interview data will be transcribed, and narratives will be coded to identify recurrent themes and determine strategies that are used by healthcare administrators to address labor shortages in their facilities.
Project Proposal 2
The topic for a Qualitative Study
Reinforcers Used by Healthcare Administrators and Managers to Contribute to the Successful Change Implementation
Rationale and Explanation
A range of healthcare policies that are regularly adopted at federal, state, and local levels require frequent changes in strategies and operations followed in facilities. The problem is that change projects are usually challenging tasks for healthcare administrators and managers because of the necessity to implement the change effectively and motivate employees to accept it (Morris 2; Spaulding et al. 152). If such changes are comparably frequent, healthcare professionals can demonstrate resistance and high-stress levels, as well as reject changes despite their dependence on the recent policies. As a result, while implementing the change, many healthcare administrators and managers choose to apply certain reinforcers to motivate employees to accept the change and adapt to new conditions (Kash et al. 66). The purpose of this qualitative study project is to identify key effective reinforcers that are used by healthcare leaders to contribute to the successful change implementation in a facility.
Methodology and Instruments
For this qualitative project, a case study design will be used to investigate the topic. Two healthcare organizations will be selected for this case study to collect the required data. Interviews with healthcare administrators, managers, and other authorities will be conducted by phone or during face-to-face sessions. The researcher will use a semi-structured interview protocol to organize a conversation. Interviewees’ answers will be recorded with the help of a digital voice recorder and transcribed for further analysis. Healthcare leaders from the selected organizations will also be contacted to provide reports that are associated with using reinforcers in organizations. These data will be gathered and analyzed in addition to the information received during interviews.
Works Cited
DesRoches, Catherine, et al. “Primary Care Workforce Shortages and Career Recommendations from Practicing Clinicians.” Academic Medicine, vol. 90, no. 5, 2015, pp. 671-677.
Gordon, Edward. “Mobilizing a Talent Revolution in Healthcare.” Surgical Neurology International, vol. 5, no. 1, 2014, pp. 95-97.
Kash, Bita Arbab, et al. “Success Factors for Strategic Change Initiatives: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Administrators’ Perspectives.” Journal of Healthcare Management, vol. 59, no. 1, 2014, pp. 65-82.
Morris, Jerry. “Changing Healthcare in the Era of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” Archives of Medical Psychology, vol. 7, no. 1, 2016, pp. 1-12.
Spaulding, Aaron, et al. “Organizational Capacity for Change in Health Care: Development and Validation of a Scale.” Health Care Management Review, vol. 42, no. 2, 2017, pp. 151-161.
Yee, Tracy, et al. “Primary Care Workforce Shortages: Nurse Practitioner Scope-of-Practice Laws and Payment Policies.” National Institute for Health Care Reform Research Brief, vol. 13, no. 1, 2013, pp. 1-7.