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Physician leadership recruitment

Medical Staff Leader Connection, January 20, 2005

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Dear Medical Staff Leader:

I just returned from the Medical Executive Committee Insitute in Rancho Mirage, CA. The seminar is hosted by The Greeley Company and brings together hospital leaders from around the country. Many of the seminar participants voiced concerns about the challenge of recruiting medical staff leaders. In recent years, finding medical staff members to assume leadership positions has become an increasingly daunting task. The mounting pressure on physicians' time and the increasing burden of leadership work has dissuaded many excellent physicians from stepping forward into these roles. In addition, many physicians dislike organizational politics, detest meetings, and are averse to any activity that takes them away from the office, off the hospital floors, or out of the operating room.

To overcome these barriers, the medical staff organization must have an aggressive and proactive approach to the recruitment of physician leaders. This effort requires the collaboration of current medical staff leaders and the administrators who run the hospital. However, as George Halvorsan, a health care executive, noted in his book, Strong Medicine, many physicians focus their energies on their own practices or on the status quo.

This is typical of the feelings shared by many chief executive officers throughout the health care industry who express frustration when physicians complain about their practice environment but are unwilling to step forward into leadership roles that can effect change. To overcome this challenge, these executives must commit to a physician leader recruitment plan and bring resources to the endeavor. Together, medical staff leaders and hospital management can create momentum in the effort to attract new physicians to leadership roles.

That's all for this week!

All the best,

Hugh Greeley
http://www.greeley.com/seminars/

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