HealthManagement, Volume 10, Issue 4 / 2008

Author:


Susan Hodgetts, MIHM MBA BEd 

Med 

Chief Executive of the Institute of Healthcare Management,

United Kingdom

Email: [email protected]



During 1902, a number of senior hospital officers felt there was a need for an institution to meet the support needs for hospital administrators. In March of that year, The Hospital Officers Association was founded to:

 

“…promote the social and professional wellbeing of hospital officers…Membership of the association conferred the direct advantage of an education character by enabling each worker to associate with his fellows in the consideration of hospital questions…” Thomas Ryan, President 1907.

 

The Diploma in Hospital administration was launched in 1925 – an essential qualification for career development in the health community.

 

In 1944 the organisation evolved into The Institute of Hospital Administrators.

 

It was in 1999, when the organisation joined with the Association of Managers in General Practice (AMGP) that the institute came to be known as the Ins ti tute of Healthcare Management (IHM)

 

The IHM has been a member of the EAHM for 10 years. This has brought benefits to the organisation including a sharing of knowledge and best practice as well as opportunities for members to visit and learn from other European countries.

 

IHM Objectives

To enhance and promote high standards of professional healthcare management in order to improve health and healthcare for the benefit of the public;

To create, sustain and represent a professional community of healthcare managers;

To provide an independent voice for healthcare managers, and to protect and promote the status, interests and welfare of the members of the institute, including by ensuring their contribution to good health and healthcare is recognised;

To influence policy, operations and culture in healthcare.

To provide local networks for members of the institute and support for members of the institute, especially in times of professional difficulty;

To promote professional stand ard setting in healthcare management;

To promote good practice and professional development in healthcare management;

To advance the study of and in healthcare management, and

To provide or support the education and training of health care managers.

 

Main Achievements and Recent Activities: Recovering from a financial challenge;

Developing and delivering a revised and new set of learning packages relevant today’s manager;

Taking on the development of “oral histories” to capture the history of the lives and works of healthcare managers;

Modernising the organisation through the use of IT ( websites, e-learning);

Regaining networks and contacts to influence policy, operations and culture in the healthcare world;

Extending the membership of the healthcare community into the armed forces;

Developing educational tools for special interest groups (esta tes and facilities);

Maintaining good management networks across the countries, and Starting to develop access to an accredited healthcare manager process for all managers across health and social care.

 

The IHM awarded Fellowships to members who had demonstrated outstanding service, significant work or a valued contribution to the healthcare com munity.

 

This was and is a prestigious award. England Scotland and Wales (1960) were the three countries at that time involved in the award.

 

Today Fellowship is an award achieved thorough an alignment of evidence to senior level competencies and the fellowship award has been super seded by Companionship.

 

The IHM is the only professional body to represent healthcare managers. It recognises their unique position as managers in healthcare, dealing with individual patients, working alongside clinicians and being prey to the ever changing political climate.

 

The institute is funded by membership and the expectations are high in a diverse landscape where different members want different things.

 

At times the work of members is surrounded by controversy and contradiction as the managers navigate their way through the constant change of healthcare services.

 

We are currently ensuring sustainability of the organisation; promoting membership, of fering opportunities for stimulating debate on important issues, finding ways to represent members views and share good ma na gement practice across the world.

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