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INNOVATIONS IN
MEDICAL PRACTICE
STUCK IN TRANSITION?
Insights for New Physician Leaders
By Amer Kaissi, Ph.D.
It is no secret that many clinicians are burnt out and resentful. Re- As a Professor of Healthcare Administration and Executive Coach,
cent studies have concluded that only 20 percent of physicians are I have worked with many physicians who have found themselves
engaged (Kaissi, 2014; Sweeney-Platt, 2016). Older physicians com- stuck in transition: their clinical training and experience have ill-pre-
plain about administrative burdens, electronic medical records and pared them to the new realities of administration and leadership.
lack of autonomy, whereas younger ones are dissatisfied with their “What makes the situation even more challenging is that other prac-
work-life balance and incomes (AMA, 2017). As a result, some physi- ticing physicians do not see you as one of them anymore, while non-
cians are transitioning into management positions because they think physician executives do not see you as one of them yet,” says Dr.
management will be easier, more lucrative or because they want to Richard Marple, Chief Medical Officer at Stone Oak Methodist Hos-
change the system from the inside, according to Dr. Todd Thames, pital and Northeast Methodist Hospital (Marple, 2017).
staff physician at Grand Rounds Inc. and Adjunct Professor at Trinity
University (Thames, 2017). In the face of these challenges, what can physician executives do
to get unstuck and fulfill their potential as high-performing health-
About 96 percent of health systems have a system-level physician care leaders? Here are some suggestions that physicians could benefit
executive, with the majority of these executives having been in their from considering:
positions for two years or less (Advisory Board, 2016). Health sys-
tems pay their physician executives generously, with median com- Seek a Masters’ degree in Healthcare
pensation at about $350,000 per year (AAPL, 2016). However, once Administration (MHA)
in executive positions, physicians face significant challenges. Many
health systems just throw them into administration with no formal Physicians go through long years of formal education and resi-
management education or leadership experience. They wrongly as- dency, so the idea of going back to school may not be that appealing.
sume that just because the physician is an excellent clinician or re- However, if you are serious about a career in leadership, then a grad-
searcher, he/she will automatically become an excellent leader. uate degree is a must. Physicians are used to being the experts in their
specific area, so the lack of knowledge in the technical components
14 San Antonio Medicine • September 2017
