Administrators
The management of a hospital is, needless to say, complicated. Although the number of physicians with backgrounds in health care and business administration appears to be growing, it is impossible for most of us to work at a high clinical level and be simultaneously responsible for the detailed analyses and planning carried out by a bureaucracy that is vitally important to the health of any health care institution. In bygone days, when money seemed to fall from trees, departments got much of what they wanted. Things are different now, and our desire and need for acquisitions must be properly justified in budget proposals. In my experience, physicians and administrators can work collaboratively and respectfully, bringing their different strengths to the table. In all of the hospitals in which I have worked, I have learned much from skilled and communicative administrators, whose work, like mine, is constantly challenging and difficult. Their role, whether in broad planning, directing hospital operations, or in Human Resources, is crucial to support the clinical mission.