How Interdisciplinary Skills Are Shaping the Next Generation of Healthcare Leaders

Healthcare is a constantly evolving field. An administrator, doctor, or nurse who graduated from school in the nineties entered a hospital environment that did not have cloud-based technology. Big data? Certainly not. Artificial intelligence? No way.

To stay up to date in the world of healthcare, you need not only to understand the healing aspects of the practice, but also the technologies that are shaping its future.

And even this is just one of the many considerations that a modern healthcare provider must keep in mind. Depending on the direction of an aspiring healthcare professional's career, they might need business skills. Marketing skills. Leadership skills. Healthcare is so many different things, and we need qualified professionals who can address all of them.

In this article, we take a look at the value of interdisciplinary skills and how they will shape the future of healthcare.

The Increasing Importance of Strong Leadership

One could write forever about how data, cloud-based technology, and artificial intelligence are continuing to shape the world of healthcare. But the factor that will have the strongest, most immediate influence on its health has nothing to do with digital technology: it’s all about leadership.

Hospital shortages and efficiency bottlenecks are impacting systems all over the country. Most hospitals are shorthanded, and patients are feeling the effects: longer wait times, difficulty scheduling appointments, overcrowding, and slower diagnosing—all problems that stem from hospitals that can't keep enough people on their staff.

How does leadership make a difference? Strong managers and administrators establish conditions that attract and keep talented medical professionals.

There are, of course, many reasons a hospital might struggle with recruitment. One of the hardest-hitting issues, however, is retention. About fifty percent of all nurses will leave the profession entirely after just five years on the job. How can a hospital ever hope to stay staffed while living in that reality?

Some healthcare systems are addressing this with a combination of better recruitment and evolving policies.

On the recruitment end, data, AI, and other forms of digital technology play a role. It’s easier now than ever to identify the qualities that contribute to a high-performing, long-lasting candidate—and then help hospitals figure out how to recruit more people who have those qualities.

Finding a consistent supply of high-quality professionals is one thing. The other? Creating an environment they want to stick around in.

This has included shorter shifts, higher salaries, more mental health resources, more flexibility in scheduling, and other factors that are slowly but steadily improving healthcare retention figures.

Weaving Technology

And of course, yes, tech does play a role in shaping the direction of care. For one thing, all of this newly emerging healthcare data puts a greater burden of responsibility on hospitals. It's great to have tons of numbers, but you still need to manage them in a way that complies with HIPAA standards.

Even when everyone does what they're supposed to do, breaches will still happen. Well-trained employees at every stage of the organization can make a difference in ensuring greater patient privacy and security.

A Conservative Approach to Innovation

Healthcare innovation is obviously important. It is this that has caused a sixty percent reduction in childhood mortality in the United States, among many other impressive and constantly improving health metrics.

That said, hospitals don't need to adopt an attitude of innovation at all costs.

It’s important to remember that the majority of people working within a healthcare system tend to be in their mid-forties.

They have established ways of doing things that should be both amendable and respected. In other words, any healthcare practice should be changeable, provided the adjustment offers a proportionate benefit.

On the other hand, hospitals can't constantly adapt their tech stack and practices while also retaining the level of employee performance and workplace satisfaction they previously had.

It’s hard to innovate all the time, and in many cases, the wisdom of an old adage holds true: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Healthcare as a Larger Ecosystem

Healthcare is a larger ecosystem than some people realize. Digital technology is making it easier for healthcare professionals located across a region to collaborate. Telehealth and electronic health records have both played an enormous role in making this possible. It's now easier than ever for patients to receive support from professionals located in different parts of the country.

For example, remote consultations with a specialist who lives hundreds of miles away can help people in rural parts of the country receive the same standard of care as someone living in a busy city.

Electronic health records, meanwhile, make it easier for that same patient to go to any hospital in the world and expect their entire health history to have arrived ahead of them.

The ecosystem itself is also just larger, even at a local level, than many people realize. Doctors, nurses, and technicians, sure.

But also social workers. Mental health professionals. Pharmacists. Yes, that's right—we said pharmacists. The pharmacy role in healthcare is at once immediately obvious and largely misunderstood.

Many pharmacists work in Walgreens, where they are often mistaken for very well-paid clerks. In fact, they play a critical role in making it easier for people to access doctors.

They educate patients and often physicians about potential drug interactions and proper medication use. For many people, pharmacists are also a primary point of contact.

People with regular prescriptions will often see their pharmacist more than their doctor, and it's to the pharmacist that they direct many of their questions and concerns.

Bigger systems can produce better results—as long as they are carefully tuned and well calibrated.

Conclusion

Modern healthcare leaders will continue to develop cross-disciplinary skills. No, it doesn’t happen overnight, or even through years of employment. It’s important to remember that healthcare is a profession for which continuing education is a natural part of the bargain.

You don’t need to know everything. All you need is a willingness to learn.