Abstract

Over the past 10-20 years, the healthcare industry has experienced a volatile existence. This volatility is a direct result of competition, the growth of for-profit hospitals, the evolution of managed care, consumer demand for quality measures, the high cost of new medical technology, and increases in aging patient populations.  These shifting environmental factors have forced international health care organizations and healthcare managers to develop new strategies to respond. The challenge that makes development of these skills so complex is that most health care practitioners received academic training in curriculum areas that are more focused on the clinical and operational aspects of healthcare and not heavily focused on the advanced study of organizational and situational leadership.  The most common leadership development programs of choice are often Master of Nursing, Master of Public Health, Master of Counseling, Master of Social Work, the Doctor of Medicine, and Master of Health Administration. Although most healthcare related graduate programs often provide outstanding clinical skills development and a good framework advanced analysis, frequently the absence of academic courses that can effectively teach clinical professionals the aspects of adaptive and situational leadership are not offered.

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