Last update:
31-Jul-2022

Large hospitals are among the organizations that are the most complex and difficult to manage, and even smaller hospitals and health centers are not easy to manage successfully. The high demands and increasingly difficulties in the management of a large health unit inevitably require the manager to have a high level of knowledge and skills. This is a narrative review of the current literature regarding the leadership skills and management competencies needed by the senior managers of large nursing units. The key characteristics of a successful health unit manager include good communication skills and interpersonal relationships, effective leadership attributes, excellent knowledge of the environment and the requirements of health care, sound business knowledge and skills, and the ability to change, adapting to the constant modifications taking place in the health sector. All of the above skills can be summarized in the concept of professionalism and the ability of the health unit manager to align his(her) personal and organizational behavior with the prevailing ethical and professional standards. These standards include a sense of responsibility to the patient and the community, with a dominant focus on the provision of quality health services and a commitment to continuous training and improvement.

Key words: Competencies, Health care managers, Leadership.