Run a great meeting: End on time

Time is one of the resources most valued by physicians. As a medical staff leader, when you chair a meeting, one way to show respect for your fellow physicians is to end all meetings on time.

To accomplish this, you must develop an agenda that includes time limits for each agenda item. It also requires that you, as chair of the meeting, stick to those time limits. This requires careful planning, discipline on behalf of the chair, and a willingness and skill to interrupt your fellow physicians to keep them on task. Work that cannot be accomplished in the time scheduled for the meeting should be assigned to individuals or small groups to complete before the next meeting.

In addition, if you announce at the beginning of the meeting that it will end on time and then keep your word, physicians will not only thank you, but they will also be more likely to show up at your next meeting.