Pediatric Insight: Passing Leadership Wisdom To The Next Generation

Topic: The Risks of Not Checking References in Hiring

Bringing a faculty member or leader into an organization has very important implications for the future success of the organization and the recruit. Making a bad choice in hiring is extraordinarily painful for a department and for a faculty member whose career suffers as a result. Often faculty searches bring candidates who may be known to a member of the search committee and, as a result, references may be deemed unnecessary. In this conversation, members of the Child Health Advisory Council discuss the importance of obtaining references prior to completing all faculty searches.

Listen to the Podcast:

Duration: 00:24:34 | Recorded on January 9, 2024, posted May 20, 2024
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Read the recap paper here.

Our moderator:

Bruder Stapleton, MD

Dr. Stapleton is a pediatric nephrologist, Professor Emeritus and Chair Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He served as Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, as well as Chief Academic Officer and Associate Dean.

Our panel:

Craig Hillemeier, MD

Dr. Hillemeier is a pediatric gastroenterologist and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at Penn State University. He served most recently as the CEO of Penn State Health.

Danielle Laraque-Arena, MD, FAAP

Danielle Laraque-Arena (AKA Danielle Laraque), MD, FAAP is President and Professor Emerita of SUNY Upstate Medical University (UMU) and served as the 7th President of UMU, the first woman and first African American to have done so in that institution’s 182 years. In that role she served as Chief Executive Officer of the health system and was tenured Professor of Pediatrics, Public Health & Preventive Medicine and Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Sciences.

Valerie Opipari, MD

Dr. Opipari is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan School of Medicine and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Dr. Opipari has held a number of administrative roles at the University of Michigan including Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics and Chair of the University of Michigan Biomedical Research Council.

Bruce Rubin, MEngr, MD, MBA, FRCPC

Dr. Bruce Rubin currently serves as professor and chair emeritus of pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where he previously served as the chair of the Department of Pediatrics and physician in chief of the children’s hospital. He is also a professor of biomedical engineering and is active in teaching and research at the VCU College of Engineering.

Robert Sawin, MDRobert S. Sawin, MD

Dr. Sawin is a pediatric surgeon, Emeritus Professor and Surgeon in Chief at Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington. Dr. Sawin served as the Vice-Chairman of the Department of Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine, Senior Vice President and Chief Surgical Officer of the Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Arnold (Arnie) Strauss, MD

Dr. Strauss is a pediatric cardiologist, Emeritus Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Strauss served as the Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati, Director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation (CCRF), and Chief Medical Officer of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC).

Wesley D. Millican, MBA

Wesley D. Millican, MBA, is CEO and Physician Talent Officer of CareerPhysician, LLC, providers of comprehensive talent solutions for academic children’s hospitals, colleges of medicine and academic medical centers across the nation. Mr. Millican is an acknowledged expert in completing complex faculty and executive leadership initiatives across academic medicine.

At the Child Health Advisory Council, we conduct regular roundtable discussions. What topic would you like to see featured in upcoming discussions? Let us know.