Developing physician-leaders: a call to action.
BACKGROUND
The many challenges in health care today create a special need for great leadership. However, traditional criteria for physicians' advancement to leadership positions often regard academic and/or clinical accomplishments rather than the distinctive competencies needed to lead. Furthermore, physicians' training can handicap their developing leadership skills. In this context, an emerging trend is for health-care institutions to offer physician-leadership programs.


RESULTS
This paper reviews the rationale for developing physician-leaders. Factors that underscore this need include: (1) physicians may lack inclinations to collaborate and to follow, (2) health-care organizations pose challenging environments in which to lead (e.g., because of silo-based structures, etc.), (3) traditional criteria for advancement in medicine regard clinical and/or academic skills rather than leadership competencies, and (4) little attention is currently given to training physicians regarding leadership competencies.


CONCLUSIONS
Definition of these competencies of ideal physician-leaders will inform the curricula and format of emerging physician leadership development programs.
Stoller
James K
JK
Physician Leadership Development, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA, stollej@ccf.org
D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010820:Physicians; D014481:United States