James K. Stoller, MD, chairman of the Cleveland Clinic’s Education Institute; Amanda Goodall, PhD, senior lecturer at London, United Kingdoms-based Cass Business School; and Agnes Bäker, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, published an article in the Harvard Business Review analyzing physician leadership and its advantages.
Here are four key points:
1. U.S. News and World Report published a study in 2011 that shows when physicians managed hospitals; those institutions obtained 25 percent higher quality scores than hospitals that had non-physician managers.
2. Toby Cosgrove, MD, CEO of Cleveland Clinic, told the article’s authors physician leaders offer credibility and therefore can manage a facility’s staff members effectively. The authors cite a study that found having a boss who is well-versed in the organization’s core business led to higher employee satisfaction and better employee retention rates.
3. Dr. Cosgrove also noted physician leaders may be more prone to listen to “crazy ideas,” thereby giving an organization’s physicians the space to share their innovative ideas that could lead to medical breakthroughs.
4. Physician leadership encompasses more than clinical expertise. It entails communicative and personal skills. Paul Taheri, MD, CEO of New Haven, Conn.-based Yale Medicine, offers physicians training on two key components: healthcare delivery and personal leadership development.
More articles on leadership and management:
AAAHC Immediate Past Board of Directors’ Chairman: Employing a consensus-building leadership approach
Physician burnout may correlate to sense of calling: 8 findings
GOP Doctors Caucus builds influence: 3 key goals
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