Tip of the week: Provide physician leaders with a clear job description

Ask a physician leader what his or her job is, and you most often get a blank stare. After some fumbling, the individual likely provides a vague description such as, "Leading the medical staff," or "Running the department." Why? Because hospitals don't typically provide physician leaders with clear job descriptions. To expect physician leaders to fulfill their responsibilities without a clear set of expectations sets them up to fail.

The following steps can help you as a medical staff leader create clear job descriptions for up and coming physician leaders:

1. Clearly identify to whom the medical staff leader is accountable
2. Clearly list the medical staff leader's responsibilities in that position
3. Clearly define the expectations of the medical staff leader for each responsibility
4. Clearly define the medical staff leader's role in leadership succession

The preceding information was excerpted from How to Recruit and Develop Physician Leaders: A Strategy for Medical Staff Leadership Development by Richard A. Sheff, MD; Todd Sagin, MD, JD; and Albert L. Fritz, MHA. To learn more, click here.