From knife to nebulous : physician leadership in the procedures suite

Abstract

At BC Children's Hospital, physician leaders face complex environments replete with ambiguity. In anticipation of the new Acute Care Centre (ACC), a "procedures suite" clinical model will bring Surgery, Anaesthesiology, and Interventional Radiology programs under a shared leadership structure. The practice of leadership in this environment is juxtaposed with the distinctive skills required of these highly specialized physicians. This research explored how leadership capacity could be enhanced for this group. Sub-questions explored participants' attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs regarding the practice of leadership, and factors that were seen as contributing to successful leadership. The findings provide recommendations for enhancing physicians' leadership capacity. A mixed-method, action research methodology, consisting of participant observations, interviews, and an online survey were used. Five recommendations resulted: improve relationships among operational leaders and physician leaders, define physician leadership, expand current leadership development programs, develop quantifiable outcome measures, and build physician leadership awareness through UBC's Faculty of Medicine.