Introduction
Administrators are not the first to be valued and appreciated among different health care professions because few understand that they keep the whole industry’s processes effective, patient-oriented, and safe. Indeed, consider this question: What are the most stressful jobs and roles in health care? When asked about them, people usually name physicians, surgeons, acute care nurses, and emergency medical technicians. However, only some think about the stress that health care administrators can experience daily and the moral courage they should have to succeed.
The Importance of Moral Courage in Administrative Leadership
Moral courage is the ability to bravely face professional challenges and dilemmas and be guided by circumstances more than rules. One may wonder how these health care managers can use such potential. Indeed, medical services administrators do not save individuals’ lives in the truest sense of the word, and do not often have to cope with some patients passing away. Precisely because they coordinate “handle behind-the-scenes necessities” and processes, not all patients recognize them as the leading and key figures in the medical facility (The Chicago School, 2022, para. 1).
Nevertheless, health care administrators are executive problem-solvers who have to make uneasy decisions with severe consequences (Goodwin, n.d.). They are like chess players moving chess pieces, which are the medical staff, patients, and various risks associated with medicine, around the board. Sometimes, they have to sacrifice a pawn to solve a more global problem or make some mechanism more efficient.
Knowing this, one may agree that care managers require moral courage to perform their duties. They take financial responsibility, manage different issues, keep irregular hours, and have to care about personnel concerns. In many cases, nurses refer to them when an acute issue has to be solved, and administrators are expected to take risks when doing what is best for the facility and patients.
Adverse circumstances or the lack of required resources do not prevent these care managers from inspiring others and acting according to their inner moral guide and beliefs. Even if their reputation, image, and emotional stability are at stake, administrators stand up for their facility’s values and principles (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, n.d.). Health care administrators need moral courage to perform all these duties and qualities effectively and remain mentally and physically healthy. This quality allows administrators to implement their moral values, evaluate the situation, weigh all the alternatives and consequences, and defend ethical principles.
Organizational Impact of Ethical vs. Unethical Administrative Behavior
Moral courage is an inner mechanism that establishes in a person the feelings of certainty and correctness of their actions (Macklin, 2015). Suppose an administrator models moral and legal behavior. In that case, others are encouraged to follow their lead, and an ethical culture promoting diversity, shared decision-making, and other positive elements can be established (Teitelbaum & Pozgar, 2015).
Workers inspired by the example of their care manager are more devoted to their duties, which eventually improves the health care system. However, if an administrator demonstrates illegal behavior or lacks moral courage, others in an organization will be dissatisfied with their jobs and fail to find meaning in their daily duties. In such circumstances, it is impossible to maintain mutual trust, respect, and support.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is recommended that health care administrators develop their moral courage and use it as their ethical guide. Simultaneously, patients and medical workers can be asked to value these care managers more so that they can be satisfied with their profession and motivated to demonstrate moral and legal behavior.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (n.d.). Moral courage. Web.
The Chicago School. (2022). What is health services administration? the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Web.
Goodwin, C. (n.d.). 15 effective ways to manage stress in healthcare administration jobs. Nursing Progress. Web.
Macklin, R. (2015). Can one do good medical ethics without principles? Journal of Medical Ethics Download Journal of Medical Ethics, 41(1), 75–78.
Teitelbaum, J., & Pozgar, G. (2015). Law, ethics, and policy in healthcare administration (Custom ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.