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PREVIOUS Grieving
at Work Medicaid
Managed Care Genetic
Testing Back
to School
Shattering the myths Needless
Risks
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By
Anne Federwisch, OTR When Donna Cripps, PT, applied for the position of vice president of patient care at St. Peter’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, she expected an interview, not a legal challenge. Of course, the administration expected a nurse, not a physical therapist. It wasn’t until lawyers assured the CEO that hiring Cripps was not a violation of the public health act that she got the position. As Cripps found out, breaking through the glass ceiling into upper management can be difficult for allied health professionals. Lack of understanding about allied health personnel’s crucial role in patient care may be part of the problem, according to Marta Tingdale, RN, RRT, manager in pulmonary services for Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. After 25 years as a respiratory therapist, she returned to school to get her RN license to facilitate her career advancement. "Even though I’m well-respected in the institution I work for, a lot of times when I had an opinion about a patient care issue, whether it was broad-based, like patient care paths, or a bedside issue, there seemed to be a credibility gap," Tingdale said. "Once I got my RN, that credibility gap began to instantaneously disappear." Others also believe it’s easier to move up the chain of command if you’re a nurse. "It seems that a nurse only needs tenure or good supervisory skills to move up, whereas an allied health professional would need some extraordinary skills to even be considered for these positions," said Beth Rittenhouse, OTL, an occupational therapist with NovaCare in Midland. Possible explanations Though no empirical evidence exists, some speculate that allied health professionals are sometimes overshadowed by the sheer number of nurses and physicians in the medical world. "The largest single group in a hospital are the nurses," said Dave Powers, MBA, PT, president of the section on administration for the American Physical Therapy Association and chief of operations for Ultimate Rehab in Pacific Palisades, Calif. "I think that numbers are probably the single most important factor that helps [nurses get management positions]." Another theory, he said, is that allied health professionals get typecast into their clinical role. "You’re a physical therapist; you’re an occupational therapist; you’re a speech pathologist," Powers said. "People get you set in that and they have a hard time seeing you in any other role." Gender issue Yet when Maureen Freda Peterson, MS, OTR/L, smacked her head on the proverbial ceiling, she thinks her gender had more to do with it than her clinical background. While she is currently a rehabilitation program director at Holy Cross Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Burtonsville, Md., she formerly directed ambulatory care services at another facility. When the department grew significantly, the administration decided to add a manager above Peterson’s level. "It was clear that a male was getting that position, not me," she said. The fact that the man was a PT made her surmise that her OT background was not the issue, but the corporate preference for men was. "This organization that I came from, all the senior managers, with the exception of the VP for nursing, on Friday nights played poker and smoked cigars," Peterson said. "If that’s not a cliché, I don’t know what is." What ceiling?
Not everyone thinks that a barrier exists to allied health career advancement. "I think that those people who want to move into management, want to be in administration—if they get the training and education to do so—they can move up," said David Hastings, MBA, RRT, administrative director for Columbia Subacute Services in Houston. Some believe that speech pathologists have an easier time moving up through the ranks. They have an edge because communication skills are crucial to both speech therapy and management, according to Debbie Sears, MA, CCC-SLP, executive director of Brownsville Children’s Rehabilitation Clinic. A master’s degree also helps, said Kay Sanders, MS, CCC-SLP, regional director of rehab for Western and Northern Texas for Progressive Step Rehab (a division of Extendicare). "I think there is probably less of a glass ceiling for speech-language pathologists because they are required to have a master’s degree to get their certification," Sanders said. "Their level of education is higher [than some other health professionals], which qualifies them for some of the other management roles." Whether or not a glass ceiling exists, a move up the career ladder into the upper echelons of management is not for everyone. Clinical competence does not ensure managerial success, Powers said. He said, "Just because someone is a great clinician, doesn’t necessarily make them a great leader." |
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