Physician Leadership: A source of hope in challenging times

Dear Medical Staff Leader,

It is a challenge to practice medicine today. This fact was brought home to me recently when I worked with a group of physicians in New Jersey on the eve of the physician "work action" taking place in that state.

I work with physicians in all specialties and types of communities across the country. I often see physicians who are angry and unhappy about the changes in health care, but I have never been with a group of physicians as unhappy as the ones I spoke with in New Jersey. There was a palpable quality of frustration and hopelessness hanging in the air. My heart went out to these physicians because it was clear that they cared deeply about their patients and were struggling to do the right thing for them under difficult circumstances.

Yet, as unhappy as they were, they turned out in large numbers for a program I conducted on medical staff leadership. If they were truly hopeless and depressed, they would not have sacrificed their personal time for a three-hour evening meeting to learn how to become more effective leaders. This is one of the great signs of hope I see during these troubled times for medicine. We are facing challenges, including reduced reimbursement, rising malpractice and liability costs, insatiable consumer demand, and increased regulation. In the face of these obstacles, some physicians have an understandable tendency to "hunker down" and turn their focus primarily to their practice and families. At the same time, we see other physicians with a larger vision--or who are struggling to create such a vision--show up at leadership development programs. They come away with the energy, knowledge, and skills to make a difference.

Unfortunately, health care is likely to get worse before it gets better, and none of us knows what "getting better" will look like or when it will happen. I am grateful to my fellow physicians who, in the face of frustrations and challenges that would overwhelm others, step forward to seek the knowledge and skills to be effective leaders in these difficult times. The more physicians step forward into positions of leadership, the sooner health care will get better and the more influence physicians will have on the outcome. Investing in physician leadership development, and encouraging your fellow physicians to accept leadership positions are two of the most powerful steps today's physician leaders can take toward positively influencing the future.

That's all for this week.

All the best,

Rick Sheff, MD