Health Care Providers as Effective Leaders

The purpose of the day and a half long seminar was to explore the leadership roles health care professionals assume within their communities, and how they can improve their leadership skills. Topic areas included Eight Challenges Facing Community Leaders, Leadership for Community Success, and Vision into Action.

Health care providers in rural areas often find themselves wearing a number of hats in addition to lab coats and stethoscopes. They are called upon to share decision-making and role-modeling responsibilities within their communities. Leadership for Excellence: Community Success was a Heartland Center workshop designed to address these issues.

In late 2002 Milan Wall and Reggi Carlson traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to work with approximately 100 members of Sioux Valley Regional Health Services (SVRHS). The purpose of the day and a half long seminar was to explore the leadership roles health care professionals assume within their communities, and how they can improve their leadership skills. Topic areas included Eight Challenges Facing Community Leaders, Leadership for Community Success, and Vision into Action.

The importance of quality, accessible health care is an increasing concern for rural communities as populations decline and age in our more “frontier” counties. Organizations like SVRHS are addressing this challenge in many ways, including workshops that focus on leadership issues beyond health care, such as those described in the 20 Clues to Rural Community Survival.

The Northwest Iowa Health Center is sponsoring a similar workshop for community leaders in Sheldon, Iowa, later this year.

If you would like more information on community training opportunities related to health care providers, contact Reggi Carlson at 402-474-7667 or 800-927-1115.

Photos: Participants share their ideas on the leadership roles healthcare professionals face.

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