![Follow me](https://www.aipmo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/fb.png"){kind=small}
Project Management for Healthcare, Third Edition, covers the significant changes in both the direction of healthcare and the direction of project management in the post-COVID pandemic era. A new chapter lets the reader reflect on the COVID pandemic in terms of project management. The third edition features changes related to The Project Management Institute’s PMBOK® Guide, Seventh Edition. It emphasizes tailoring, performance domains, and value delivery systems, all from the perspective of the healthcare field.
The book details the prevalence of online data and the need for its protection. The book explains how data can be protected during a project’s lifecycle. Another chapter covers how Agile can be applied to projects in healthcare. This new edition also covers green technology and sustainability.
Exploring the discipline of project management from a healthcare perspective, the book dissects the project process and covers the management skills required to manage a project successfully. By defining a project to include the tools and techniques needed, the book shows how to successfully deliver a project from identifying stakeholders and developing and gaining consensus on requirements to constructing a project plan. It also covers in detail the skills required to manage project stakeholders and team members successfully.
Managing healthcare projects using the discipline of project management is a skill that can help healthcare professionals better utilize limited resources, both human and monetary, and ensure the highest possible quality of care to meet or exceed their stakeholders’ expectations. Project Management for Healthcare, Third Edition, shows how to use the discipline of project management to achieve those goals successfully.
Rating: 6.4 – Project Management for Healthcare by David Shirley is a practical and easy-to-follow introduction to applying project management principles in healthcare settings. The book addresses contemporary topics such as sustainability, agile practices, and digital transformation, which give it strong relevance in today’s healthcare project management landscape. While it includes methodologies, techniques, and case studies that support utility, the addition of step-by-step guides, templates, and more diverse international examples would further enhance its value. Its focus on U.S.-centric examples provides useful context but would be even more impactful if complemented with broader international perspectives.
The cover design is professional and clear, supporting easy reading, though selective use of color could improve navigation and highlight key points. Visual aids are limited, but more tables, graphs, and flowcharts could help explain ideas more clearly.
The book is generally easy to read, using clear and professional language that makes concepts understandable for beginners, though a few sections could benefit from additional examples to aid comprehension for less-experienced readers. It demonstrates substantial practical value by showing how healthcare project management concepts can be applied in real-world scenarios, making it especially suitable for students, MBA participants, and junior project managers. Its usefulness for experienced professionals is more limited, as the depth of analysis and range of tools remain basic. More detailed cases, standout examples, and actionable templates would strengthen its practical value.
The book mainly adapts established project management principles to healthcare, offering functional perspectives without introducing new methodologies or significantly advancing the field. Case studies are relevant and helpful but narrow in scope, with limited diversity and complexity, which reduces their usefulness for experienced professionals or those in varied healthcare contexts.
David Shirley brings solid expertise in IT, green project management, and teaching in healthcare, providing practical guidance grounded in real-world experience. This foundation is supported by strong research quality, drawing on both foundational and contemporary references, though incorporating more recent case studies and emerging trends could further enhance the book’s relevance.
Overall, the book is a valuable and accessible resource for those entering healthcare project management, providing clear explanations, practical examples, and actionable insights, while also laying a strong foundation for further learning and professional growth.
The book demonstrates a good level of relevance by addressing contemporary issues such as sustainability, agile practices, and digital transformation—topics that contribute to its ongoing value in the evolving field of healthcare project management. While it primarily draws on U.S.-centric examples, the methodologies, techniques, and case studies provided are broadly applicable and useful for a wide audience.
The inclusion of practical frameworks, illustrative examples, and current trends enhances its utility, offering actionable insights for healthcare project managers. Although step-by-step guides, templates, or a more diverse set of international examples could further strengthen its applicability, the content successfully contributes to emerging discussions and supports professional development in healthcare project management.
The book is easy to read, using clear and professional language that makes project management concepts understandable for beginners while still providing value to those with some experience. The straightforward style ensures that the material does not overwhelm its intended audience, although certain sections could benefit from further simplification or more illustrative examples to support beginners.
The book provides strong practical value by presenting healthcare project management concepts in a clear and approachable style, supported by examples that link theory to real-world practice. It is particularly suitable for beginners and students, offering an accessible entry point to core practices while also serving as a useful reference for professionals seeking to strengthen their foundational knowledge.
Although the depth of analysis and range of tools are not extensive, the book succeeds in introducing concepts in a way that supports real-world application. Its contribution could be further enhanced with richer case details, standout examples, and practical templates that managers could directly apply, but it already offers meaningful guidance for a wide range of readers.
The book shows a moderate level of innovation, mainly through its adaptation of established project management principles to the healthcare context. While this adaptation provides some value, particularly for beginners, it does not introduce new methodologies or significantly advance the field. The perspectives it adds are incremental and remain largely introductory, making the book more of a basic adaptation than a source of deeper knowledge or transformative practices.
The book includes relevant case studies that illustrate project management concepts in healthcare, making the material approachable and supportive for its core audience. However, the examples remain somewhat narrow in focus, with limited diversity and depth. The lack of global, interdisciplinary, or more advanced scenarios restricts its usefulness for experienced professionals or those working in varied healthcare contexts. As a result, the case studies are helpful but only moderately strengthen the book’s overall value.
David Shirley brings solid expertise in project management, drawing on experience in IT, green project management, and teaching in healthcare contexts. This mix of practical and academic knowledge adds credibility and keeps the content grounded in real-world application. He brings an applied perspective that offers practical and reliable guidance, grounded in real-world experience. While not positioned as a globally prominent authority, his background ensures readers can trust the guidance provided in the book.
The book offers meaningful value primarily for students, MBA participants, and junior project managers in healthcare. Its accessible style and introductory depth make it a worthwhile investment for those entering the field or seeking to understand how project management principles apply to healthcare settings. While it serves as a solid and practical resource for those at the beginning of their professional journey, it may not provide sufficient depth for more experienced practitioners.
The book draws on a well-chosen range of citations and references that enhance its academic credibility, incorporating both foundational and contemporary sources in the field. While it accurately presents established practices, its value could be further strengthened by integrating more recent case studies and highlighting emerging research trends, which would better reflect the rapidly evolving nature of healthcare project management.
The book would benefit from stronger use of integrated tables and images to support learning. Flowcharts can illustrate process phases clearly, tables can distill key information for quick reference, and graphs can highlight practical and relevant insights in a healthcare setting. While some visualization is attempted, it falls short of fully leveraging these tools to enhance comprehension and application.