Dr. Carlos Ramirez

I have been continually learning how to become a better transformational and emotionally intelligent leader during my diverse 28 years career, having the practice and experience from my early beginnings during High School as a grape picker in the fields of Coachella Valley in California to my first hospital job as an emergency department aide (EDA), LVN, RN, Charge Nurse, Clinical Manager, Director of Critical Care Services, House Supervisor, transitioning out of the hospital setting in to the Home Heath, Hospice, with roles as Director of Patient Care Services, Executive Director, Nursing Professor, and later in to higher level roles as Regional Director of Operations, CNO, COO, to my recent new venture as a CEO/Founder and Senior Consultant for a private Health Care Operations and Strategy Consulting LLC.    

The value added from higher education and the combination of years of hands-on experience at the beside working with patients, families, physicians and other health care professionals and the additional knowledge gained later as a manger, regional director, and chief nursing and operational officer for a couple of large and small home health and hospice corporations created in me an ideal hybrid model leader who can apply effective leadership strategies, having evidence based practice being involved in building high-performing teams achieving quality performance goals, patient quality outcomes, survey and certification success, and financial targets even during the heat of the pandemic has helped in building a strong confidence and fearless spirit for navigating the never ending changes and regulations affecting hospitals, clinics, home health, hospice, physicians’ private practices and other health care providers.

I have been asked several times by other leaders, students, and colleges in the industry; “Do you believe leaders are born or made?” and I have to be honest, at the beginning my answer used to change between the two until I read a book during my doctoral studies that finally cleared this question for me, and my answer is “I have never met a leader that was not born”. We know there are without a doubt people who are born with natural leadership qualities, but there are so many who are able to learn great leadership techniques, best practices, and do’s and don’ts from life and practical experience. In my opinion some of the strongest and most successful leaders are a combination of both natural skills and learned experiences from education settings and hands-on work and practice.

One of the great challenges currently affecting leaders in most health care sectors is the ability to create high performing teams with staff that is loyal, stays motivated, and provides excellent customer service, the nursing shortage in the U.S. is at a critical point, with hospitals overwhelmed during the pandemic by patients with COVID-19 which are also facing additional challenges because many nurses have decided retire (Baby-Boomers), quit working in hospitals, have switch to work in part-time or temporary positions, or decided to leave the nursing workforce altogether (D. W. Baker, 2022).

Health care leaders are now faced with staff recruitment and retention challenges while the organization demands higher performance, quality, outcomes, great service, and financial gain increases. Is like trying to win the soccer world cup with a team missing three players, with four injured players and no players available in the bench to get into the game and help. Is not an easy task, is challenging even for seasoned experienced leaders, but there is always a way to navigate the storm and come out of it in good shape.

Some of the key elements that I have used and continue to use for my many different leadership roles and jobs are a list of must haves including leading my team by example with open communication, professionalism, mutual respect, practicing self-control, a sense of job ownership, and active team engagement with the inclusion of a fun team building and employee appreciation program. I can discuss on a different time how each one of these best practices work and how they can make a difference for your team helping to bring the employee morale up, creating a sense of job ownership, and bringing the best out of your high performing employees who are very influential for the middle performers and low performers in an organization. Always remember that the best leader is not the one leading from the back with a whip, but the leader that leads from the front with a flag.