Introduction
Modern challenges facing the health sector, such as various viruses, require healthcare providers to be creative and innovative. Effective solutions to emerging problems are possible only through coordinated work and the application of new approaches, including modern technologies. The BayCare Health System, located in Florida, is one example of an organization that applies such rules to its work. With patient-centric online technologies and health education opportunities, the experience of BayCare needs to be researched in detail. The BayCare Health System approach is one of the world’s leading patient care systems and combines leadership skills and effective learning methods using modern technologies.
Overview Analysis
BayCare Health System operates in Clearwater, Florida, and provides a wide range of medical services for patients of different ages. BayCare has 15 hospitals in downtown Florida. However, due to various modern technologies, BayCare provides remote services such as telehealth (Services). In addition, the organization’s main areas include cancer care, heart and vascular care, and others (About Us). It is important to stress that one of the features of the organization is to provide ongoing educational programs and opportunities for patients. For example, on the site of BayCare, one can find a section where there are links to future events regarding healthcare.
In addition, the organization constantly releases its podcasts, which can be listened to on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, and organizes courses for pregnant women (Classes & Events). Among the main areas, according to the gender and age of patients, that BayCare provides medical services for are BayCare kids, women’s health, senior health, and men’s health (Services). Overall, BayCare is a prime example of a healthcare delivery system that seeks to implement classic and modern medical approaches.
Organizational Recommendations
Aligning Leadership Philosophy with Organizational Design
When creating a recommendation for leadership philosophy for the organization, it is crucial to consider the general philosophy of development and the type of organization to which the recommendation will be applied. Further recommendations regarding other goals will include democratic and free structuring of the company. The ability of staff members to express their views and influence the processes and goals of the organization has many advantages, which will be discussed in the following paragraphs. However, such an organizational design provides the choice of the appropriate behavior model for its leader.
Considering the abovementioned factors, the recommendation for BayCare is to choose authentic leadership. As Hollis (2018) states, “Authenticity builds loyalty, trust, collaboration, engagement, and commitment. It forges positive changes in their teams…” (p. 1). In particular, to align leadership philosophy with organizational design, it will be essential to understand the company’s values, the patients it targets, and the goals it wants to achieve. When this match is done, it will be a powerful tool for the leader in the process of effective changes inside the organization.
Enhancing the Organization’s Shared Values, Vision, and Mission Statements
It is essential to consider the Lean method as a recommendation to enhance the organization’s shared values and create more inspiring vision statements. This approach is described in detail by Pruitt et al. in the book Healthcare Quality Management (2020). According to Pruitt et al. (2020), “the Lean philosophy will teach you to recognize waste in healthcare” (p. 36). The author considers five steps to allow the company to implement the Lead philosophy and create inspiring values and statements.
One of the important steps to understand is to specify the value. One should ask the patients, their families, and their caregivers to define proper values (Pruitt et al., 2020). It will help to understand the needs and requirements of people and thus adapt the vision and mission statements of the organization to those needs. As a second recommendation, it is vital to consider the value stream analysis method by which the organization can evaluate the actions required to bring a specific service to the customer (Pruitt et al., 2020). Both methods allow BayCare Health System to create values and statements that align with patient demand.
Improving Organizational Structure and Systems
Innovation is an important ingredient for the development of any organization. Healthcare is no exception, and specific approaches can significantly increase the capacity of the medical institution through new developments and innovations. One of the most effective recommendations for improving organizational structure and systems will be to increase investment in modern technologies (Lightner & Karla, 2019). Looking at the service provided by BayCare Health System, it can be concluded that the organization places considerable emphasis on modern technologies. For example, the release of podcasts or technologies related to telehealth are among the critical services of BayCare (Services).
Therefore, additional investment in such technologies will create a strong impetus for the organization to innovate. The second recommendation considers involving medical professionals and nurses in the organization’s overall planning. This improvement applies to organizational structure, as it will allow all employees to express their views on various issues. It could be an essential step towards innovation, as it would create diverse views and allow for assessing situations from different perspectives.
Ensuring Beneficial Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is critical for the staff of any organization. It is essential to understand that the satisfaction of a person’s personal life will directly impact their success and efficiency at work. According to Chakraborty et al. (2023), “Employers who are committed to providing environments that support work-life balance for their employees can save on costs and enjoy a more loyal and productive workforce” (p. 34).
Therefore, an important recommendation for the BayCare Health System is to create a structure where employees can devote time to their personal lives. An important demonstration of the employer’s leadership will be the desire to consider its employees’ demands and wishes regarding their personal problems and affairs. One of the recommendations is to establish a flexible timing schedule (Chakraborty et al., 2023). Communicating with workers and setting certain boundaries will be a significant step toward creating the right work-life balance system inside the organization.
Organizational Learning Assessment
The learning occurs in the BayCare Health System through consistent learning practices using modern technologies. As one of the leading teaching methods, the organization uses clinical research. This approach allows BayCare to study and apply new knowledge regarding treatments, medicines, devices, or surgical techniques (About Us). As a result, it significantly increases the effectiveness of the health care provided as well as BayCare System’s competitiveness.
Learning Capturing
BayCare pays considerable attention to the creation of various educational programs and organizes a variety of activities to acquire knowledge in the field of healthcare. However, the organization also prioritizes developing its employees’ skills to improve competitiveness. The primary learning methods capturing BayCare use interactive classroom instructions and computer-based learning (About Us). In addition, BayCare provides an opportunity for medical professionals in healthcare to obtain degrees, such as a master’s degree.
Learning Transferring
BayCare transfers the learning to its patients in different ways. The creation of podcasts and video lectures on various topics allows the organization to raise the level of education of its patients remotely. In addition to using technology, BayCare Health System also uses classical methods of information transferring, such as lectures and courses (Services). One of the most important is the program to train pregnant women (Services). All information about events dedicated to learning can be found on the official website of BayCare. Here, people can get acquainted with it and enroll for a consultation or register for an event or course.
Evaluation of Learning Processes
BayCare Health System evaluates the learning process as a vital and helpful tool for patients and the organization itself. BayCare sees learning as a way to increase the level of education of its employees, and it aims to adapt to the use of modern methods and technology in the healthcare field (About Us). In particular, the organization is exploring ways to improve the learning of its staff by creating new platforms with videos, podcasts, and other educational materials.
Learning Organization Recommendations
Generate more Knowledge and Better Learning
Creating a continuous learning system is a critical element of successful education. As a recommendation for BayCare, it will be important to organize such an approach in which healthcare providers would have the opportunity to receive on a permanent basis both theoretical and practical knowledge. For example, an effective method would be for staff to share experiences with each other and learn from invited experts, tutors, and university professors (Chakraborty et al., 2023). Moreover, combining the experience of different professions in today’s world is vital. As BayCare actively uses modern technologies, it will be important to involve IT specialists in the education system.
Inspire People to Share their Ideas and Learning
To share people’s ideas and learning and inspire them, it will be essential to create quality conditions for this. As mentioned above, BayCare releases its own podcasts. Therefore, people should be sure that their ideas will be transferred qualitatively and valuable for many people. This method is effective because the person will want to share their ideas and knowledge with others if they know it will be significantly helpful for people (Pruitt et al., 2022). In addition, the leader or employer needs to create a transparent and democratic communication system within their organization. It should be done so that staff can express their ideas independently and enthusiastically.
Organizational Knowledge
The organization should have a place to serve as a knowledge library. This space, which is often an archive, is where all the organization’s knowledge will be stored, starting from the first days of its operation. To capture this knowledge and ideas, it is crucial to implement a rule to note all information that workers obtain during their practical experiences (Chakraborty et al., 2023). Each staff member should be responsible for maintaining the organization’s archive and knowledge base. This method would prevent the loss of important knowledge and allow it to be efficiently organized to gain access at any time.
Ongoing Learning
Continuous communication between management and employees will play an essential role in evaluating the learning process. To ensure that the learning is ongoing, it will be important to communicate verbally and in writing with employees. For example, with a certain periodicity, it is necessary to carry out a written assessment of knowledge following the material of educational programs and lectures (Chakraborty et al., 2023).
This way, it is possible to see whether the staff members are upgrading their knowledge or attending checklist sessions. In addition, it is vital for healthcare providers to maintain a constant level of practical experience. Putting them in situations requiring critical thinking and leaving their comfort zone is an important method for ongoing learning.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to stress that a modern healthcare institution should strive to use various methods to improve its services. BayCare Health System is an example of this organization’s type, as it is based on the desire to train and improve the skills of all healthcare providers. Moreover, implementing specific recommendations described in this essay will be an important step towards improving the efficiency of BayCare and further enhancing its competitiveness.
References
About Us. BayCare. Web.
Chakraborty, T., Mishra, N., Ganguly, M., & Chatterjee, B. (2023). Human resource management in a post-epidemic global environment: Roles, strategies, and implementation. CRC Press.
Classes & Events. BayCare. Web.
Hollis, N. T. (2018). Blueprint for engagement: Authentic leadership. CRC Press.
Lightner, N. J., & Kalra, J. (2019). Advances in human factors and ergonomics in healthcare and medical devices: Proceedings of the AHFE 2019 international conference on human factors and ergonomics in healthcare and medical devices. Springer.
Pruitt, Z., Smith, C. S., & Perez-Ruberte, E. (2020). Healthcare quality management: A case study approach. Springer Publishing Company.
Services. BayCare. Web.