QUESTION:        We have several clinical departments that have either weak chairs or chairs who are there entirely by “default.” These individuals are relied upon to perform a really important role.  How can we get stronger leaders interested?

ANSWER:            In many hospitals, it has been traditional to rotate the department chair position so that everyone gets his or her turn.  However, not every physician, quite frankly, has an aptitude for, or interest in, medical staff leadership.

One answer might be to develop stronger qualifications for serving in medical staff leadership roles, including officers and department chairs, and to provide for compensation for department chairs.  Another question to ask is if there are too many departments.  Consider consolidating departments.  By having fewer positions to fill, you then have a larger pool of qualified people who want to serve.

Finally, many hospitals are facing this very issue and are tackling it head on by incorporating an affirmative “succession development” process.  In these facilities, a small core group of medical staff leaders has an ongoing responsibility for identifying individuals who seem to show an aptitude for leadership and cultivating those skills – beginning with committee appointments and then moving them forward in the leadership track.