Investigating the Gap Between Perceived Importance and Competency of Managerial Dimensions from the Perspective of Health Care Management Graduates

Background: Health Care Management (HCM) is a key field within the healthcare sector. The role of management and its associated functions is highly important in enhancing the quality of hospital care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the gap between perceived importance and competency of managerial dimensions from the perspective of HCM graduates at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd province. Methods: This descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted on 101 employed graduates of HCM at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using a standard questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two sections: demographic information and questions related to managerial competency dimensions, covering 11 dimensions and 61 items. Results: Most respondents were aged 20–29 years, were male (59.4%), worked as administrative experts (31.7%), and had 10 years or less of work experience. The highest self-assessed competency scores were observed in ethics (3.93±0.61) and customer orientation (3.83±0.65). Gap analysis showed that all domains except ethics demonstrated statistically significant gaps between self-assessed competency and perceived importance (paired t-test, P<0.001). The largest gap was observed in financial management (−0.57±0.89). The smallest gaps were found in ethics (−0.20±0.80; not statistically significant) and service delivery management (−0.21±0.79). Conclusion: Graduates require enhanced skills in the areas of knowledge management, information and communication management, and financial management. The implementation of modern teaching methods and holding specialized workshops can contribute to increasing these necessary skills among the graduates.