Learning to manage in health

Abstract

'I'M A MRP' is the grammatically incorrect response I offer anyone who asks the ever popular 'What do you do?' question. The error in the statement may be understood when you realise that the acronym stands for an inanimate entity: Management Residency Program. Despite the struggle I have with the inherent clumsiness of the phrase, I am actually quite happy to use the term. I feel comforted by the idea of having an identity. I think this comes from my former life as a Prosthetist/Orthotist (P&O). As a P&O, you have an identity. Regardless of where you are working, you are a P&O and this is interesting in itself. It's a great conversation piece. Now that I attempt to make the move into management, I find myself placing greater importance on where I am rather than what I am. It now matters more to me which organisation I belong to. I?d like to attribute this to an academic theory such as Henry Mintzberg's, which would suggest that my focus is changing from a professional orientation to an organisational one.1 However, I realise there is a slight possibility that the title 'health manager' is actually just boring. I know lawyers who find themselves in the same predicament. As soon as they say, 'I'm a lawyer', conversation comes to a screeching halt.