THE LAST 5 YEARS OF THE MU/ADFM NEW CHAIRS WORKSHOP

Leaders in academic medicine are confronted with constant change. Chairs in family medicine, often instrumental during this dynamic time, require training to be successful leaders.

First started in the 1990s, there was a hiatus in the University of Missouri (MU) workshops until 5 years ago when the leadership development mission of the Association of Departments of Family Medicine (ADFM) provided an ideal situation for helping train the next generations of family medicine leaders.

As reported in 2013, (http://www.annfammed.org/content/11/5/483) this program was originally conceived by Michael Hosokawa, EdD and Jack Colwill, MD in the 1990s in order to help train the second generation of family medicine department chairs. With a “third generation” of chairs now upon us, it is imperative to continue our training efforts. With changing funding streams to support traditional academic missions and increasing reliance on clinical income, the current generations of academic chairs have a different job.¹ We might even say that we are now training the “fourth generation” of family medicine chairs.

While many of today’s challenges may differ from those in the 1990s, the stories told by our recent participants still describe the struggles of managing the interpersonal and human component of the work, while ensuring the infrastructure to support the larger enterprise. Evaluations over the past 5 years suggest that the 2 most highly valued aspects of the workshop are the case-based, problem-oriented focus on individual challenges and the interpersonal relationships built within each class of learners and faculty. As one participant wrote, the best component of the workshop was “being able to discuss the issues of being a chair with other chairs who really do ‘get it’ with respect to the challenges we are facing… and getting lots of input and ideas about how to address the challenges.” Another highlighted how, “getting to know the people there [was the best component of the workshop]—relationships always outlast specific knowledge.”

ADFM tracks incoming interim and permanent chairs while offering a variety of training opportunities of much shorter duration and intensity than the New Chairs Workshop at Missouri. Since 2011, we have been able to engage about one-quarter of our new chairs in this more intense experience, with 25 participants out of a total of 95 new chairs coming on board.

Outside of the case-based problem sessions noted above, the workshop includes presentations and discussions led by a current and former chair at MU and a consultant senior family medicine chair, a Vice chancellor, as well as other MU faculty. Recently, we introduced competencies for chairs and other family medicine leaders² into the program, enabling participants to assess their own strengths and areas for continuous improvement on their respective leadership development pathways. One participant wrote, “this program combines the right mix of time spent listening, engaging in group and one-on-one discussions, social interactions and professional interactions… the content was helpful and spanned the breadth of all the things we need to know.”

The overall program has an almost perfect rating; of the 25 participants over the last 5 years, 24 gave the program a “5” on a 1 to 5 scale (with 1 = poor and 5 = excellent) and the other gave it a “4”. Across all 5 years, no session received an average below a “4” on the 1 to 5 scale, and there are only 2 responses below a “3 (neutral)” for any session across all 5 years.

This evaluation data strongly suggests that we extend this training opportunity and continue to encourage as much participation among new family medicine department chairs as possible. As one of the participants put it, “[I] can’t imagine a new chair NOT attending this event. It should be part of every chair’s hiring package. The [money] invested will reap [more money] in ‘downstream revenue’ for any dean or CMO.”

MU and the ADFM look forward to help train the “fourth generation” of Family Medicine Chairs as we evolve and improve the New Chairs Workshop.

• © 2017 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.