I think I disagree. First, NHPCO has had the Manager Development Program up and running for some time now. I have no idea how many managers they are actually developing, but I do know it is happening all over the country.. . .The real issue to me re: baby boomers is the massive consolidation that will have to take place as the boomers, who still run hospice, retire and boomers need hospice services.
If people are upset now thinking about the for-profit / non-profit debate, think how roiled people will be as smaller hospices have to be merged on a massive scale because there Won't Be Enough Staff to run all of the small hospices.
How many up and coming hopsice folks under 35 do you know????
The Boomers who started hospice are great but many of them have been doing this since they were under 35 when the benefit started and it doesn't look like they've done a great job of cultivating those younger than them. . .
More importantly, I think the lack of young hospice directors is more a result of the lack of opportunities available. There is no doubt that many very qualified young people have left the hospice industry for greener pastures, but, when the boomers who have been running most of the hospices in the nation begin to retire, there will be green pastures within the industry. There is a limited number of hospices and thus a limited number of management jobs. It is also a new industry, so we are just now at the end of the first generation of leaders. There will be a second generation.
I have seen many talented people leave hospice because there was no room for promotion within the industry. There will come a day when those young leaders will not leave the industry because they will see the hope of moving up the ladder. In the next 10-20 years most every well established hospice in the nation will have turnover at the top. In reality that means the next generation of hospice executives are probably the young kids who just hired on or don't even work in the industry yet.
If there is a vacuum in the industry it is an opportunity vacuum, when that changes, I have little doubt that there will be talented leaders ready to take this industry into the next generation.
4 comments:
Very profound article you have here. The hospice management vacuum will probably not affect that many people since there is a great deal of optimism in the field that the vacuum will not last long, and that there will be persons to fill in the void.
This is my first time to this site and I love it!!! I will definately be passing this on to my fellow coworkers and friends in the Hospice community. I would just like to say that I am 27 years old and I am currently the Director of Nursing or Patient Care Coordinator as they are sometimes called for the Hospice I work for.(And I'd like to add that I did not start out as a CM or Admissions Nurse!! I was an Oncology/Chemotherapy Nurse) I have known that this (Hospice and Management) was what I wanted to do since I graduated nursing school with my BSN in 2003. I don't see myself going anywhere or doing any other type of nursing. I feel that this is where I am meant to be. I have been treated differently by many other health care managers in the community due to my age. I get comments all the time. I happen to feel that Hospice needs the "young" working for them. Times are changing. Nursing is changing. Medicine is changing. I am looking forward to the future with Hospice. I am so devoted to the entire meaning of Hospice and my goal in life is to leave my mark in the Hospice medical community. This is one reason that I am applying for my MSN (which has a palliative option!!!). The problem, I feel, with the lack of "the young" in Hospice and Management is in part due to the lack of education on Hospice in Nursing School. I think I had one day of Hospice Education during Nursing School. Nursing students are missing out on so much in reference to Hospice. Then they get out into the medical setting and hear so many misrepresentations about Hospice that they decide they could never work there. I know this first hand because I am young and I have heard it so many times from my fellow classmates and nurses. It is not until they have been nursing in several different fields that they understand Hospice and decide that that is what they want to do. Therefore, they are much older when they enter the Hospice field. I personally feel that once Hospice is presented differently in Nursing School, there will be a huge influx of younger nurses entering the Hospice field. And I would just like to add that what a great day that would be!!! I see so often that "older" nurses struggle in Hospice care because they are so set in the way they were taught to "get the pt better." Imagine what it will be like when you get a nurse who has a clean slate to work with and can really understand and live the Hospice meaning! Lastly, this is not to disrespect the "older" Hospice nurses. Without you I would not be who I am today. Your knowledge and expertise is invaluable. And who else would be educating the "young" if it wasn't for you?
I am a young professional with a Bachelors in Healthcare Administration and working on my Masters. I am also a Licensed Home Care Admin, and working in Hospice with no room for advancement is very frustrating to say the least. My interest in Hospice began from a personal experience right about the time I chose my major and knew that is what I wanted to do "when I grew up." My experience was less that pleasant. In a period of 1 month, we went through 3 Administrators. I cringed when they brought in the Minister for an interview (was he going to pray for admissions?). They were sitting on a gold mine of experienced and educated people but the company was too blind to take a look at what they had, and I'm just not talking about myself. Our nurse manager was well educated and very well experienced. She was passed over for someone of lesser experience and education because they thought she could "generate referrals quicker." Their choice lasted 13 days, and their choice cost us our Nurse Manager. I also see this all the time with marketing staff. I always knew when I would sit in on an interview I would hear the question "...and what contacts do you have that you think could immediately generate referrals." I'm by no means ignorant and know that hospice is a business, and to survive it has to have admissions, a sense of urgency. But what happens when we only practice this incestuous manner of hiring. Hospice X hires Hospice Y's Admin/DON/CSR. Hospice Z is going to come along before too long and do the same thing. The “gene pool” is getting depleted and we are starting to become something out of a scary movie (our own grandpa or something). Has it become such a burden or expense to train? It’s time to inject some new blood! Stop hiring mechanics to write symphonies. SO, that’s my rant, and It’s late. Good Night
If the next generation is like the acronym spouting hacks I have had to endure thus far we are in real trouble. Nursing seems to handle it's side pretty well but I am endlessly amazed at the Business side that seems to think it's job is to micromanage nursing instead of get more business.Even when they are adept at bringing new clients it is usually with at least one misrepresentation of hospice services to the physicians and patients. I feel like bsn*don touched on the root of the problem. Nursing education needs to include the Diagnosis Specific Criteria "preached and teached" early and often. Physicians are going to be most influenced by the nurses they work with daily. That and a Nurse owned ESO-Hospice would wipe out the cureent crop of shysters playing hospice for fun and profit.
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