Making a Difference through Healthcare Management
by Sheryl Landrum
Career School Directory Columnist
May 07, 2007
Healthcare is a main topic of conversation today, whether it's about affordability (or lack thereof), the newest in technology, or treatment breakthroughs. This field that offers cutting-edge technology and almost unlimited funding for research provides practitioners with the opportunity to affect everyone's life at some point. With a growing elderly population and an increase in chronic lung diseases, one of the fastest growing divisions of healthcare is respiratory therapy.
Guillermo Friederichsen completed his associate's degree in health science at Grossmont College in San Diego in 1979 and passed the exam to become a registered respiratory therapist (RRT) that same year.
Guillermo parlayed his degree in health science into a position as the Department Administrator for Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, California--where for the last 15 years he has managed their respiratory care and neurology departments.
CSD: What is the biggest difference between working as a respiratory therapist and being a department administrator of a respiratory clinic?
GF: As a respiratory therapist, I was part of the team that helped to directly save lives; now, as a manager, I am part of the team that assists physicians, staff, and facilities to provide respiratory services that aid our patients while being cost effective.
CSD: How do you spend a typical work day?
GF: With management there are always meetings. I spend most of the day meeting with doctors, other administrators, and staff regarding clinical problems as well as personnel, union and departmental issues.
CSD: What is your biggest challenge?
GF: Budget constraints are always an issue for hospital clinics. We have approximately 500,000 patients enrolled in San Diego. Providing staffing and quality healthcare while keeping training, service, and technology at its best, and within budget, is challenging.
CSD: What is your biggest reward?
GF: Neonatology has increased the survival rate of premature babies and improved their future lives as well. In the past, babies born at fewer than 28 weeks had a poor chance of survival; those who survived were often left handicapped. Today we have different therapies such as high frequency ventilation, as well as drugs such as Exosurf and Survanta to assist premature babies with their lung development. Survival rates have improved significantly in the last 20 years.
CSD: How did your respiratory clinical work assist you in becoming an administrator of a respiratory clinic?
GF: The clinical knowledge is imperative when managing a hospital department. It would be difficult to discuss the latest in respiratory therapy with a clinic doctor or nurse and not know the basics of respiratory care. It would also be difficult to argue for a budget increase for equipment or technology and not be able to discuss specific respiratory benefits to the patients and the hospital clinic itself. Most clinical managers are respiratory therapists that have been cultivated into management positions by the hospitals they work for. Educational courses and training in management and personnel issues are also encouraged.
CSD: What advice would you give students considering a career as a hospital or clinical administrator?
GF: Get your RRT, choose an area of interest, then seek a management or supervisory position. Then, if you are serious about a management position in healthcare, a bachelor's degree in business administration would be your next objective.
Did you know?
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Respiratory care is one of the fastest-growing professions in the country. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the need for respiratory therapists is expected to increase 35% through 2012.
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Respiratory care training pays off. The average salary for respiratory therapists is over $50,000 per year.
Learn more about Healthcare Management programs.
About the Author
Sheryl Landrum is a senior loan officer with Charter Funding, Inc., in Carlsbad, California and a freelance writer specializing in mortgage and financial issues.
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