MANAGEMENT IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY

Reynaldo O. Joson, M.D.

Introduction

Management and manage are derived from the Latin word,

manus, meaning hand. Manage, therefore, literally means to

handle and management, the handling of.

In the study and practice of medicine and surgery, and in

life and in other professions for that matter, we cannot avoid

encountering situations, problems, and people which and whom we

have to handle or manage. Likewise, we cannot avoid being given

assignments and responsibilities to handle or manage.

Furthermore, we cannot avoid initiating tasks and projects to

satisfy our id, ego, and superego and which, again, we have to

handle or manage.

In the study and practice of medicine and surgery, if we

look at the competencies expected of a physician-general surgeon,

which are to be able to:

1. solve the surgical health problems of a community;

2. be an effective, efficient, and humane physician-

general surgeon in managing patients;

3. be self-directed in continuing surgical education;

4. be an effective and efficient administrator of a

health care unit;

5. conduct surgical health research;

6. conduct surgical health education; and

7. pass the Philippine Board of Surgery examination;

all of them involve management.

Thus, a very basic competency that all physicia-general

surgeons must have is management.

Whether it be management of self (time, ambition); people

(patients, people in an organization or community); projects

(education, research, health care unit, passing the board

examination); and situations and problems, the basic management

processes and principles are the same.

Please take a look at the table below which illustrates the

universal application of management.

1

Application of Management

Self

Time

Ambition

Project Health Management

Education Community Health

Research Health Situations Family Health

Health Care Unit Health Problems Individual Health

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Situational Analysis Situational Analysis Situational Analysis

Diagnosis Problem Identification Diagnosis

Diagnosis

Objective Setting Objective Setting Objective Setting

Strategy/Program Strategy/Program Strategy/Program

Implementation Implementation Implementation

Evaluation Evaluation Evaluation

Improving Improving Improving

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PLANNING - IMPLEMENTING - EVALUATION - IMPROVING

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PLANNING - ORGANIZING - STAFFING - LEADING - CONTROLLING -

EVALUATION - IMPROVING

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The only adjustment that you have to make is whether you are

managing

- your own self;

- another individual person (say a patient);

- a group of people (say in a community or an

organization); or

- a project that involves people.

2

In managing a group of people or a project that involves

people, the seven processes or functions of management will be

utilized, namely: planning, organizing, staffing, leading,

controlling, evaluating, and improving.

Otherwise, you can just use planning, implementing,

evaluation, and improving.

Below are some definitions of terms used in management as

gotten from the book of Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich,

entitled "Management", 9th edition (1989): (Note: this book is