Building Effective Healthcare Leadership: Five Key Shifts You Need to Know

 

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Leadership is a skill that anyone can learn. It's not something that people are born with, but rather something that can be developed through the right mindset and observable behaviors that lead to measurable outcomes. 

Unfortunately, a significant number of American workers report that their boss is toxic, and dealing with their manager is the most stressful part of their workday. 

In the healthcare industry, toxic leadership can have serious consequences. The stress and anxiety caused by toxic leaders can lead to decreased morale, burnout, and poor patient outcomes. It is important for healthcare organizations to recognize the impact of toxic leadership and take steps to build a more effective approach to leadership.

To address the challenges of today's complex organizational environment, a new approach to leadership known as servant leadership is emerging. 

In the healthcare industry, servant leadership is becoming an increasingly relevant approach to leadership. Rather than being a manager who directs and controls people, healthcare leaders are expected to be in service to the people they lead, with a focus on making the lives of their team members easier - physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Research suggests that this approach can enhance both team performance and satisfaction.

To practice servant leadership in healthcare, leaders must embody empathy, compassion, vulnerability, gratitude, self-awareness, and self-care. They must provide appreciation and support, creating psychological safety so their employees are able to collaborate, innovate, and raise issues as appropriate. This includes celebrating achieving the small steps on the way to reaching big goals and enhancing people’s well-being through better human connections. These conditions have been shown to allow for a team’s best performance.

To develop this approach to leadership in healthcare, leaders can make five key shifts that build on traditional approaches, but go beyond them:

1. From being an executive to an effective visionary, shaping a clear purpose that resonates with and generates holistic impact for all stakeholders.
2. From being a planner to a pioneering architect, reimagining the healthcare industry and revolutionizing its service systems that can create values for the patients.
3. From being a director to a dynamic catalyst, engaging people to collaborate in open, empowered networks.
4. From being a controller to a compassionate coach, enabling the organization to constantly evolve through rapid learning, and empowering colleagues to build new mindsets, knowledge, and skills.
5. From being a boss to a benevolent human, showing up as one’s whole, authentic self and building meaningful connections.

According to a recent McKinsey analysis of academic literature and a survey of nearly 200,000 people in 81 organizations all over the world, there are four types of behavior that account for 89 percent of leadership effectiveness: 

• being supportive
• operating with a strong results orientation
• seeking different perspectives, and
• solving problems effectively. 

Leaders who demonstrate these traits tend to base their decisions on sound analysis and avoid biases. They build trust and inspire and help colleagues to overcome challenges, allowing for a team's best performance.

In the context of healthcare, leadership is essential for ensuring that patients receive the best possible care particularly in a constantly chaotic environment such as in emergency department. 

In the healthcare industry, these four types of behavior are particularly relevant. 

Healthcare leaders who are supportive can create a positive work environment where healthcare workers feel valued and respected.  This means creating psychological safety for healthcare workers so they can collaborate, innovate, and raise issues as appropriate. It also means supporting healthcare workers and recognizing the physical and emotional toll that the job can take.

1. Being supportive

Supporting others is also essential in healthcare, where healthcare workers often face emotionally challenging situations. Leaders who understand and sense how healthcare workers feel can provide emotional support and build trust, which can improve the quality of care provided to patients. This can also help reduce burnout and turnover rates and resignation (including migration from public to private healthcare services) among healthcare workers, which can have a significant impact on patient care.

2. Operating with a strong results orientation

Operating with a strong results orientation is also essential in healthcare. Leaders must prioritize patient outcomes and ensure that their organization is providing the best possible care. This may involve implementing quality improvement initiatives or streamlining processes to improve efficiency and productivity.

3. Seeking different perspectives

Seeking different perspectives is crucial in healthcare, as the industry is constantly evolving. Leaders who monitor trends affecting healthcare organizations can make informed decisions about how to adapt to changing circumstances. Encouraging employees to contribute ideas can also lead to innovative solutions that improve patient care.

4. Solving problems effectively

Solving problems effectively is particularly important in healthcare, where decisions can have a significant impact on patient care and outcomes. In healthcare, effective problem-solving involves gathering and analyzing information to make informed decisions. This may include reviewing patient data, consulting with other healthcare professionals, and staying up-to-date with the latest research and best practices.

Effective problem-solving can help healthcare organizations identify and address issues that may be impacting patient care. For example, if patient wait times are consistently long, a healthcare leader may analyze the patient flow process to identify areas for improvement. They may work with staff to develop and implement new processes or protocols that help reduce wait times and improve the patient experience.

Inward reflection

Besides that. to be an effective leader, one must first look inward and examine your own modes of operating to learn what makes you tick. 

Leo Tolstoy once wrote that “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changinghimself.”

This idea is particularly relevant for executives leading organizational change, as it highlights the crucial role of personal transformation in achieving meaningful and lasting organizational change. Through years of collaboration in leadership and cultural transformation, experts have discovered that individual change is integral to organizational change, and that change initiatives often fail when individuals overlook the importance of transforming themselves. While building self-awareness and translating it into organizational change can be challenging, it is a necessary step towards successful change initiatives. This article aims to provide insights and guidance for leaders who are ready to embark on this journey.

This is particularly important for healthcare leaders for the following reasons.

Firstly, healthcare professionals are often exposed to emotionally challenging situations, and looking inward can help them manage their emotions and maintain their well-being. Taking time to reflect on one's experiences and feelings can help healthcare professionals identify sources of stress or burnout and take steps to address them.

Secondly, looking inward can help healthcare professionals improve their self-awareness and empathy, which are critical qualities for providing patient-centered care. By examining their own attitudes and biases, healthcare professionals can identify potential barriers to effective communication and work to overcome them. This can lead to improved patient satisfaction and better outcomes.

Thirdly, looking inward can help healthcare professionals identify areas for improvement in their practice. By reflecting on their experiences and outcomes, healthcare professionals can identify areas where they may need additional training or support. This can help them provide better care to their patients and improve their own professional development.

Finally, looking inward can help healthcare professionals build stronger relationships with their colleagues and teams. By examining their own communication and collaboration skills, healthcare professionals can identify ways to improve teamwork and support their colleagues.

 

References:

McKinsey & Company. (2022). What is leadership? https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-leadership?cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=1ff8edda0ca64c6e8b6df90f06b17a76&hctky=11931892&hdpid=3be6ac3b-e848-40ac-b54c-c1d5864e36c1#/

McKinsey & Company. (2019). Decoding leadership: What really matters. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/leadership/decoding-leadership-what-really-matters#/

McKinsey & Company. (2015). Change leader, change thyself. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/leadership/change-leader-change-thyself#/

McKinsey & Company. (2015). The boss factor: Making the world a better place through workplace relationships. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-boss-factor-making-the-world-a-better-place-through-workplace-relationships

 

AI and Snake Envenomation: A Game-Changer for Medical Treatment and Conservation

 

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-bright-lights-373543/

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various industries, including healthcare. The use of AI capabilities, such as natural-language generation, computer vision, and robotic process automation, is growing exponentially. 

In a recent McKinsey report for example, it has been shown that organizations are increasingly making use of AI capabilities, with the average number of AI technologies used expected to double from 1.9 in 2018 to 3.8 in 2022. 

This growth is reflective of the widespread use of AI in fields like natural language generation and computer vision. Natural-language text understanding has advanced rapidly, moving from a mid-tier position in 2018 to ranking just behind computer vision in 2022, while robotic process automation and computer vision have consistently been the most widely adopted among these various capabilities.

In the field of herpetology and global health, AI can play a vital role in identifying snake species, which could have a significant impact on snakebite victims and conservation efforts.

AI in Snake Identification

Molecular methods such as the use of immunoassays for identifying snakes has its limitations, especially in resource-poor areas. Identification of snake species based on pattern recognition, on the other hand, although it is essential for medical professionals to do so in order to provide appropriate care, can be challenging. This gap can be closed with the help of AI models built on top of computer vision methods. While there are already AI models that can recognise common birds, fish, and butterflies, few have attempted to do the same for snakes, and those that have have focused on narrow taxonomic or geographical niches.

A recent study by Bolon et al. (2022) developed an AI model to identify snakes worldwide. The model achieved an impressive macro-averaged F1 score of 92.2% and demonstrated accurate classification of venomous and non-venomous lookalike species from Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. This technology could support snakebite victims, healthcare providers, zoologists, conservationists, and nature lovers across the globe.

F1 score is a metric used to evaluate the performance of classification models, particularly in situations where there is an imbalance in the number of samples between different classes. It is a combination of two other metrics: precision and recall. 

Precision basically means: of all the positive predictions I made, how many of them are truly positive? 

Precision = Number of True Positives (TP) divided by the Total Number of True Positives (TP) and False Positives (FP)  

Whereas recall means: of all the actual positive examples out there, how many of them did I correctly predict to be positive?

Recall = Number of True Positives (TP) divided by the Total Number of True Positives (TP) and False Negatives (FN).

The F1 score balances both precision and recall by taking their harmonic mean, providing a single value that represents the model's performance. The F1 score ranges from 0 to 1, where 1 indicates perfect precision and recall, and 0 means the model fails to make any correct predictions. 

Limitations of AI Models

 

Generative AI models may sometimes produce incorrect or biased information, posing risks in their application. The Bolon et al. (2022) study acknowledged limitations, such as the under-representation of snake species in some regions, the evaluation of model performance with easy-to-identify photos, and the need for further research in comparing lookalike species.

Addressing AI Bias

Human, systemic, and computational biases can affect AI models, impacting their usefulness and trustworthiness. Organizational leaders need to ensure AI systems improve human decision-making and reduce bias. Two imperatives for action include responsibly using AI to improve traditional human decision-making (this is where the human brains are still very much relevant) and the need of accelerating progress in addressing biases in AI.

Researchers also need to work on various techniques to ensure AI systems meet fairness definitions. One promising technique is counterfactual fairness, which guarantees that a model's decisions remain the same in a counterfactual world where sensitive attributes are changed.

Conclusion

AI has the potential to transform the medical and conservation fields, particularly in snake envenomation. The AI model developed by Bolon et al. (2022) represents a significant step forward in snake identification, ultimately benefiting snakebite victims, healthcare providers, and conservationists. However, addressing the limitations and biases in AI models remains a critical concern to fully harness the power of AI in these fields.

References

• Bolon, I., Durso, A. M., Botero Mesa, S., Tollefson, S., Omori, R., Zurell, D., & Alcoba, G. (2022). An artificial intelligence model to identify snakes from across the world: Opportunities and challenges for global health and herpetology. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16(2), e0010647. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010647
• Leong, K. (2022). Micro, macro & weighted averages of F1-score clearly explained. Towards Data Science. Retrieved from https://towardsdatascience.com/micro-macro-weighted-averages-of-f1-score-clearly-explained-b603420b292f
• Manyika, J., Silberg, J., & Presten, M. (2019). What do we do about the biases in AI? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2019/10/what-do-we-do-about-the-biases-in-ai
• McKinsey & Company. (2022). The state of AI in 2022 and a half-decade in review. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai-in-2022-and-a-half-decade-in-review#/
• McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). What is generative AI? https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-generative-ai#
• National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2022). There's more to AI bias than biased data: NIST report highlights. https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2022/03/theres-more-ai-bias-biased-data-nist-report-highlights

 

 

ChatGPT Prompts to Enhance Research Proposal Writing

Before deep diving into the specific prompts that can be used to enhance research proposal writing,  let me start this post by repeatingly remind each other as acdemicians and professionals, to use ChatGPT responsibly and ethically. Whilst ChatGPT can be very useful in many aspects of research proposal writing, the onus still falls on the researchers to evaluate and verify the accuracy of the information generated by ChatGPT. ChatGPT does not absolve us of the accountability of being a thinking researcher and academician.

Q1. Should ChatGPT be included as a co-author of your paper?

I do not believe that ChatGPT can be a co-author under any circumstances because authorship is not merely about putting your name in the paper. Authorship also means taking personal accountability of the contents of the paper.  In this regard, ChatGPT is not a personal entity that can take personal accountability. 

Even in the guidelines by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) on who qualifies to be an author, an author is someone who fulfills the following:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

ChatGPT cannot fulfill the fourth criteria. 

Hypothetically, if ChatGPT can be a co-author for every academic paper produced with the aid of this AI model, then ChatGPT would become the most global author, and soon to be the most cited author, in every academic discipline and in every country of the planet as long as there is internet connection.

Q2. Is ChatGPT a friend or a foe in the academic circle?

This is the question I saw circulating in many websites. But to me, this is a wrong question to ask. ChatGPT, just like any other technology, is morally neutral. A knife can be a friend or a foe depending on who is using it. Or as Joseph C. Pitt famously said, "Guns don't kill people. People kill people". (Pitt, J.C. (2014). “Guns Don’t Kill, People Kill”; Values in and/or Around Technologies. In: Kroes, P., Verbeek, PP. (eds) The Moral Status of Technical Artefacts. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht).  This is known as the Value Neutrality Thesis.

The question, therefore, is not whether is ChatGPT a friend or a foe. Rather the question is, Do YOU want ChatGPT to be a friend or a foe?

Now, the specific suggested prompts that can be used to enhance research proposal writing:

If you already have your proposal ready

To evaluate the quality of the proposal

Pretend you are a reviewer. Evaluate the quality of this part of the proposal/write-up, highlighting both the good and bad points.

Pretend you are a reviewer. Evaluate the quality of this part of the write-up on [SECTION]. Be strict and be as critical as possible.

To evaluate the grammatical aspect of the proposal

Pretend you are a language editor. Evaluate the grammatical aspects of this write-up.

To edit the proposal

Pretend you are a language editor. Edit this write-up and send back to me. Do not remove the in-text citations in your response:

[TEXT]

 

But if you do not yet have a full proposal,

Brainstorming for Research Ideas 

I want to conduct a study in the field of [EXPERTISE/INTEREST]. Generate for me fundamental research ideas to work on. Highlight the novelty of each idea with the sentence "Novelty:..." 

I want to conduct a multi-disciplinary study in the field of [EXPERTISE/INTEREST]. Generate for me fundamental research ideas to work on. Highlight the novelty of each idea with the sentence "Novelty:..." 

Brainstorming for Research Titles 

I want to conduct a study on [RESEARCH TOPIC/IDEA]. Generate some titles for my research. 

Outlining Research Proposal 

I am interested to conduct a study on [RESEARCH TITLE]. Outline my research proposal. 

Brainstorming Research Questions 

I am interested to conduct a study on [RESEARCH TITLE]. Suggest some research questions for me. 

Generating Hypothesis 

Generate the corresponding hypotheses based on the following research questions: 

[RESEARCH QUESTION(S)]

Generating research objectives

Generate the corresponding research objectives based on the following research questions:

[RESEARCH QUESTION(S)]

Generating (or comparing) problem statement

Based on this literature review, generate for me the problem statement of this research: 

[LITERATURE REVIEW] 

Generating suggested conceptual framework| 

Based on these research questions, generate for me a conceptual framework for my research: 

Literature Review

Screening for relevance of search results 

I want to clean the dataset to only select the topic that is only relevant to “[RESEARCH TITLE]”. Read the titles and abstracts given and evaluate it weather it is about “[RESEARCH TITLE]” or not.   Based on the following data, list the feedback to include AUTHOR, TITLE, YEAR, Relevant (Yes/No) and Reason (please provide a simple reason if the info given related to the “[RESEARCH TITLE]” or not).  List your response in TABLE FORMAT.  [AUTHOR, TITLE, YEAR, Relevant (Yes/No), Reason]

Tabulate past studies 

Summarize these abstracts in columns. 

Write paragraphs based on past studies 

Paraphrase these abstracts in paragraphs. Do not remove in-text citations in your response. 

Generating suggestions for probable statistical methods based on research design 

I am conducting a research using [THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK, e.g. UTAUT-2 model] with [RESEARCH DESIGNS, e.g., 6 independent variables and one dependent variable]. Suggest the possible statistical analysis that I can use. 

Identifying for relevant research instruments 

Based on these research questions and title, list the appropriate instruments that can be used to measure these research questions: 

Generating new research instruments based on existing theoretical models/frameworks 

I want to conduct a study on [RESEARCH TITLE] using the [THEORETICAL MODELS, e.g. UTAUT-2 model/TAM model]. Generate a survey instrument for me. 

Generating feedback/comments on relevance of research to governmental policies 

Based on this title and the research objectives, generate for me the paragraph on the relevance of this research to governmental policy:

[TITLE]

[RESEARCH OBJECTIVES]

Identifying the United Nations Sustainability Developmental Goals (SDG) addressed in the research 

Based on this title and the research objectives, state which UN SDG addressed in this research?

[TITLE]

[RESEARCH OBJECTIVES] 

Generating feedback on how the research title can meet the Quintuple Helix of Innovation

Describe how the research title [RESEARCH TITLE] can meet the quintuple helix of innovation