The Tension Challenge

Having over ten years of working history in the healthcare industry, I found that challenge one, The Tension Challenge, resonates mostly within my career. I have worked for small clinics and large hospital systems alike, and have found that leadership roles “in the middle” can cause a lot of undesirable tension.
In a past position, I managed a team of healthcare auditors. They reviewed various facility processes for institutional compliance, and reported data directly to me. I then took that data and reported it to an upper level administrative committee. I presented the committee with current rules and regulations related to the audit topic along with the audited data. The committee would then develop action plans, as needed.
While I held a management position, I never felt as though I had any real authority (other than direct staffing management). The federal and state level agencies governed the rules and regulations, related to practical processes. While the administrative committee determined final institutional compliance. The role I …show more content…
In my previous example, I was able to obtain a positive outcome in a seemingly negative environment. However, that is not always possible. One of my first management roles, was in a privately owned specialty clinic. When I started working for the clinic, I was an operations manager. Shortly after becoming employed, I learned the clinic experienced financial issues with an outsourced coding company. Having a background in coding, I offered my services to code for the clinic, while continuing my other duties, until they found another coding agency. Taking on this role meant that I would provide a lot more, uncompensated, time to the clinic. I made this career maneuver based on two ideas. First, to help the clinic, and second, to expand my resume. The situation was not ideal, but the positive aspects outweighed the negative aspects – for a short period of