Observations on Operations

It’s always great to talk to “early careerists.”  Earlier this month, we were fortunate to host a practicum at ARAMARK Healthcare with students from Temple University’s Masters in Healthcare Administration program as part of their Management Grand Rounds exercise.

According to Barbara Blundi Manaka PhD RN, Associate Director, Programs in Healthcare Management at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, the concept in structuring the Management Grand Rounds program is to offer students opportunities to visit organizations that are outside the traditional student mindset of a healthcare provider.

In addition to myself, a number of ARAMARK Healthcare senior leaders spent some time talking to and advising the students in the areas of marketing, operations and human resources. There were some good lessons for the students including:

1. Healthcare is a process where care is delivered by more than the doctor and nurse.  Support service workers (food, environmental services and clinical technology management staff) play a significant role in patient satisfaction and clinical quality.
2. For a hospital to truly excel, everyone in the organization must focus on satisfaction, service excellence and operational efficiency.
3. With the difficult job market, five “quick tips” were reinforced for students who are interviewing. Those being:
   1. Be aggressive – finding a job is hard work; network!!!
   2. Stay Positive – don’t panic
   3. Compromise if necessary – pay expectations and further commute
   4. Do not give up – devote part of the day to job hunting and the rest to doing something positive
   5. Train for a new field – outsourcing may require a career field change

Temple graduate student Vicki Freedman frames her point.

ARAMARK Healthcare Vice President of Operations, Sebastian Mitchell, explains to Temple students the importance of staff motivation in meeting a hospital's goals.

From left, Barbara Blundi Manaka PhD RN, Associate Director, Programs in Healthcare Management at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, discusses the practicum with Cheryl Camuso, Vice President of Marketing, and myself.