Physicians from many different specialties have entered these roles based on their local hospital needs. In addition to clinical experience, leadership and interpersonal skills are critical for success.
How would a fellow or early-career GI who is interested in hospital medicine pursue this career pathway?
My first suggestion is to get involved in local efforts based on your interest. For example, if you are interested in quality improvement, seek to be a member of your department or hospital quality improvement committee. In GI and hepatology, natural places to get involved are around the development of care pathways, readmission committees, and initiatives to increase screening and treatment of hepatitis C or colon cancer. If you are interested in operations, look to see if there is an endoscopy or clinic operations committee you can get involved in. Get to know your medical board and medical staff structure. I gained exposure to this world by observing some of these meetings and then being asked to join them. These are valuable groups that help to create policy, raise important issues, and work with administration in the management of the hospital.
I am also a big fan of informational interviewing. If there are leaders who do the type of work you are interested in, consider reaching out with a call or email and asking to meet with them to talk about their role and career path.
As a fellow, there is an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirement to incorporate residents and fellows onto hospital committees. This requirement has been a great way to have fellows incorporated into hospital work. You will find that those in hospital administration are eager to have interested and collegial partners in the work that is being done.
Are there any advanced training options available for those interested in hospital administration?
Depending on the position, there are numerous certificate and master’s programs that can provide formal education. CEOs and COOs may seek an MBA or master’s in Health Care Administration. There are programs that focus on Health Care Leadership or Quality and Patient Safety that are applicable to many leadership positions. These are offered in in-person and online formats. However, many physicians in these positions have a combination of informal and experiential learning programs that developed their skill set.
Some hospital systems offer an internal physician leadership training program to develop early and midcareer physician executives. There are professional organizations that offer courses for leadership development (e.g., American College of Physician Executives). Some business schools offer shorter-format programs that are geared toward health care leaders and focus on finance, operations, or quality.
I received some of my training through the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program, which is a 14-month experiential learning program in quality and patient safety that is run locally in New York City. In addition, I had some leadership training through the Association of American Medical Colleges and through the AGA Future Leaders Program (http://www.gastro.org/about/initiatives/aga-future-leaders-program).
Hospitals, outpatient practices, and health systems offer career paths including patient safety, quality improvement, or hospital management. I have enjoyed stretching my existing skill set in these roles while learning about how health facilities work, gaining knowledge of health care financing, and making care safer while ensuring high quality. These roles require teamwork across professions and specialties. As a gastroenterologist or hepatologist, we bring our own clinical and professional experience, which can be invaluable to the overall health care management team.
