This Pediatric Insight Conversation focused on needs, approaches, and strategies for doing the critically essential work of clinical research that is crucial to continuously improving patient care and outcomes in pediatrics.
Initial comments focused on the need for a critical assessment of existing infrastructure, personnel, and resources upon which to build. Particular emphasis was on having or developing dedicated staff, especially research coordinators and data management experts, to assure quality control and precision of data. The need to share and coordinate such personnel and expertise across divisions within a department was noted as a way to increase efficiency and quality. The benefits of involving the community to assure adequate inclusion and diversity of subjects and to develop trust within the community to have open and in-depth responses were mentioned.
How do you find the ideal practice position? How do you identify the opportunities that are a good fit with your skills and personal goals?
Maybe you’re looking for your very first position. After several years of intense study and training, how do you make all of your hard work pay off with a rewarding and fulfilling career?
This course is one in a series of courses offered by CareerPhysician to provide you with valuable knowledge and skills that will give you an edge as you begin your professional career as a physician.
Our goal as pediatricians is to improve patient care and outcomes. Our panel discusses how and why clinical research is critical to that goal. We also emphasize how clinical research improves interactions among faculty; extends collaboration to other departments; schools, and the lay community, and provides opportunities for faculty development. It is essential to the academic mission of departments of all sizes and scopes.
The fiscal challenges in academic medicine are apparent to us all — particularly in academic pediatric medicine. The many pressures of increasing complexity of clinical care, decreased reimbursement (especially from government payors such as Medicaid), competing priorities for individual faculty members to meet the multiple aims of patient care, teaching the next generation, and scholarship to advance our respective specialty fields to name a few.
New clinical leaders often enter their leadership roles without a solid understanding of the economics of health care. Additionally, they may not inherit established funds flow models that optimize the realization of the goals for patient care, teaching, research, and child health advocacy.
In this conversation, our council discusses what leaders in academic pediatric medicine need to understand about the business of medicine and what principles need to be to considered to maximize fairness and the chances of accomplishing competing priorities and goals.
Clarity in understanding the responsibilities of the Chair of a Search Committee is important to a successful process. The goal of the process is to identify the best candidate for the position that is to be filled. This conversation highlights the importance of the charge given to the committee. Noteworthy is the attention to details borne by the Committee Chair e.g. to have in place the preparatory documents, standardization of the process, appropriate selection of committee members, legal and HR supports to ensure the integrity of the search with adherence to Title VII and IX mandates. Discussed also is the engagement of a broad representation of committee members, individuals who are invested and do not detract from reaching a positive outcome for the Department, School of Medicine and University.
Career Physician’s New Leader Engagement Program is a comprehensive approach to optimize a leader’s success in their new role. It begins with an experienced leader performing an extensive review of the institution and its component divisions and departments with their respective strengths, weaknesses and challenges. That same reviewer can then be an effective facilitator during the recruitment process based on that in-depth understanding of the institution and the area of specialty. The most powerful dividend of this program may be the potential for that same reviewer to serve as an advisor/coach for the individual selected to be the new leader. While this advisor/coach role may differ somewhat from the formal executive coaching role, the value of an outside advisor with specific knowledge of the situation, and who can serve as a confidant with no conflict of interests, may be powerful.
Success in leadership for academic medicine is much more complex and characterized by an accelerating pace of change. For new leaders, a robust support team is essential. To optimize that support, a thorough assessment of the individual leaders’ skills and experience, as well as the institutional environment is imperative at the beginning of their tenure. For that reason, a structured program or institutional review preceding the placement of a new leader can have great value. Once the institutional and leader assessments are completed, an ideal support team can be created to buttress areas where the leaders may face their greatest challenges. Furthermore, when leading a new team, a leader’s thorough understanding of different team members skills, experience, and styles of work and communication can be leveraged to optimize the success of the program, division, or department.
Recruitment is one of the most critical responsibilities of leaders to ensure the success of their departments. To avoid unsuccessful recruitment searches, all departments, regardless of their national esteem, must carefully prepare both the candidate and the department. With this preparation, departments can better present the opportunities that would attract the candidate, evaluate the cultural alignment, and to meet the candidate’s personal and professional goals. Personal respect for the candidate, not institutional arrogance, is required for successful recruitment. The Child Health Advisory Council (CHAC) and leadership of CareerPhysician discuss their perspectives on best practices to respect candidates during leadership search.
Every leader working with faculty and staff to define the mission and vision for the organization needs to articulate the core values and principles that will ignite and inspire the community. A #1 priority is providing a positive work and learning environment that supports the well-being of the organization. This conversation identifies key attributes of a healthy culture and gives examples of explicit messages that support a healthy culture.
Financial management is often an area that physician leaders have not yet developed experience prior to assuming their leadership role. The complexity of clinical reimbursements, research funding sources and institutional compensations has greatly increased the management demands for physician leaders. Fortunately, department chairs, and most division chiefs, often have an administrator available to share this responsibility. In this conversation of members of CareerPhysician’s Child Health Advisory Council, experienced leaders reflect on the nature of this relationship and how it might be maximized.
