The clinic manager in the Medical Clinic is now moving all the way to the top of the organization where he has progressed through education, medical work and eventually also management training and experience.
David Johansen is a publicly approved nursing assistant, and trained as a doctor. He is a specialist in internal medicine and heart diseases, and has a doctorate in cardiac physiology. He also has an assistant position as deputy head of the Department of Clinical Medicine at UiT, Norway’s Arctic University. The management experience has been gained as a section leader at the cardiology department in Tromsø, and through three and a half years as clinic manager.
Not a solo job
The new UNN director is originally from Beisfjord in Narvik municipality. He has used his time as clinic manager to familiarize himself with the hospital environments in Tromsø, Narvik and Harstad. The prerequisites for further developing the entire UNN in the job as top manager of the region’s largest organization are therefore well in place.
As a married father of two girls aged seven and ten, as well as a boy aged five, he sees that it can be demanding.
– This is not a solo job to be carried out in the director’s office on the top floor. I am concerned with relationship building and structure. The goals are to be achieved through close collaboration with managers, users, union representatives, safety representatives and thousands of skilled UNN employees. Good interaction with the municipalities in Troms and Ofoten will also be an absolutely essential factor for UNN to be successful in the future, says the new UNN leader.
Sees great opportunities
In recent years, UNN has had significant challenges, especially in the area of finance and accessibility. As in the other health enterprises in Helse Nord, a lack of professionals is one of the main reasons. David Johansen believes that UNN has a unique opportunity to solve these challenges.
– We are a university and regional hospital for the whole of Northern Norway. This gives us great obligations, but also opportunities. The potential that lies in UNN is great, and we have not used the full capacity as we run the business today. This is one of the reasons why I am motivated to take on this challenge, says David Johansen.
Unifying and clear
Chairman Anders Mohn Frafjord is satisfied that the process of finding a new director after Anita Schumacher resigned from the position on 8 March, has been quick and of high quality. Both the appointment committee and an external company have searched widely to find the right candidate.
– The new UNN director is a unifying and clear leader with good relational qualities, which we know modern leaders must have. He has a long-term perspective for the position, and a great commitment to further developing UNN as a university/regional hospital and local hospital. He was the best candidate, and I am confident that he will continue and strengthen all that is good at UNN, says Anders Mohn Frafjord
