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Tip of the week: Surviving medical staff leadership

Medical Staff Leader Connection, July 9, 2008

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Being a medical staff leader can be a positive, educational experience, but it can also be trying. Follow these 10 tips to help you manage and get the most out of your leadership experience:

1. Read your bylaws, rules, and regulations
2. To learn about your position, schedule a face-to-face meeting with the following individuals:
   • Vice president of medical affairs (VPMA)
   • A colleague who is in the same position or has recently completed a term in office
   • The medical staff coordinator
   • The CEO/COO
3. Discuss your position’s time commitments with your:
   • Spouse/family
   • Partners
   • Office staff
4. Find at least one wise, supportive friend who will keep your confidences, provide counsel, be an empathetic listener, and give you occasional ideas.
5. Avoid colleagues who gossip, spread rumors, criticize, and snipe at you. You have a perfect reason not to spend time with them.
6. Always ask “Is this confidential information?” and then keep it so.
7. Identify your support staff—in the medical staff office, administration, your office—and use them.
8. Insist on leadership skill training programs as soon as possible for yourself and your leadership team.
9. Schedule at least 30 minutes each week for self-learning using audio materials, videos, books, and journals.
10. Find someone to identify community resources for your leadership development—a public library, community college, or university—and see if they have programs, publications, or instructional materials for you.

This week’s tip is adapted from How to Recruit and Develop Physician Leaders: A Strategy for Medical Staff Leadership Development, by Richard A. Sheff, MD; Todd Sagin, MD, JD; and Albert L. Fritz, MHA.

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