PA leadership development--an oxymoron?

[maryfran123]

I have been thinking about this a bit since reading RC's post on PA's educating PA's.

 

Where are we in terms of developing future leaders?

IMHO, very far behind the nursing and physician establishment.

 

Our profession has done a great job in developing clinicians that can practice medicine efficiently and cost effectively.

We are valued members of our health care teams.

 

But in essence, to me, as I look back over the last 26yrs of my career and squint into the next decade of my career, I ponder what does that really mean?

This will sound a bit jaded, especially to newer PA's but esssentially, the majority of us are "grunts". We work the front lines, handling whatever comes our way,

loading/unloading the trucks(typically better and faster than those around us), come back to work the next day and do it all again.

Yes, we educate ourselves, our patients, colleauges, students, residents, etc.

We may even sit on committees, be a "chief" PA in our hospital(those positions are few/far between) work at the state level with our PA association or on a national level BUT:

 

where is the actual leadership development taking place in our profession???

Where is the opportunity to learn about becoming a leader and then having the opportunity to become said leader?

 

At every hospital I have worked, there has been leadership development for nursing. There is a track that nurses can get on and make their way up the ladder

to even higher level positions.

At my current facility, all nursing management positions go to "leadership" education days. Many of our upper level management personnel are nurses that do not have advanced degrees but made their way up the ranks in the early days and now are VP level.

Where is the equivalent experience for PA's?

Our physicians in leadership positions, such has division heads/chiefs of departments, also get leadership development with assigned readings, meetings with the

leadership development personnel in HR.

 

A very cursory google search on nursing leadership and you can discover:

http://www.aone.org/education/ENLI.shtml

 

http://www.qhrlearninginstitute.com/events/event_details.asp?id=214890

 

http://www.cnlassociation.org/what-is-a-CNL

 

At the annual EAST(Eastern Association Surgical Trauma) they have a 3 YEAR program for Trauma/Acute Care Surgeons so that they may develop leadership ability.

 

I feel that we get a tremendous amount of recognition about what a vital role we are to have in the upcoming years, particularly with all the changes taking place

in a new health care world but it begs the question: what is that role? To be present and keep loading and unloading the trucks even faster, more efficiently and for less $$ than others?

Where is our seat at the table? Our chance to impact policy? If not on a national level at least in our own little fishbowls: our clinics, hospitals, networks.

 

I feel the paucity of attention we have given to this aspect of professional developement, in years to come, may be a real hindrance to giving PA's an opportunity to

advance outside the clinical realm.

[SocialMedicine]

academic centers have some responsibility to promote leadership and professional development. They are failing. The next 80 programs will NOT HELP.

 

I believe Duke has a training program for PAs in leadership.

[maryfran123]

academic centers have some responsibility to promote leadership and professional development. They are failing. The next 80 programs will NOT HELP.

 

I believe Duke has a training program for PAs in leadership.

 

I agree that leadership development should begin, at even an elementary level, during PA school.

 

However, it begs the question: where are the opportunities outside that enviroment?

 

That's great Duke has a program but it is not practical for the PA practicing outside of NC.

 

I am surprised the AAPA National Conference has never had a seperate seminar in this field.

Yes, it is great they have all the CME's, hands on clinical seminars like suturing, reading EKGs, ACLS, etc but why not

have daily "Sunrise" sessions specifically focused on leadership or a half day or all day seminar?

[EMEDPA]

pa's have to go it on their own to get into leadership positions.

the current president of the johns hopkins em group is a pa with an mba. I'm sure he had to claw his way to the top and got zero help from hopkins.

guy doesn't even list his pa credentials anymore but he is a long time em pa:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/emergencymedicine/Faculty/JHH/scheulen.html

[maryfran123]

pa's have to go it on their own to get into leadership positions.

the current president of the johns hopkins em group is a pa with an mba. I'm sure he had to claw his way to the top and got zero help from hopkins.

guy doesn't even list his pa credentials anymore but he is a long time em pa:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/emergencymedicine/Faculty/JHH/scheulen.html

 

E--I think it is great that this PA made it to the top in his fishbowl.

 

BUT, again, it begs the question: why have to "claw"? Why isn't there a development track that mirrors the advancement, progression, leadership role, impact on policy in our profession that we see in nursing/phyisican worlds?

[physasst]

Mary, I've been saying this for years. I've battled at my own institution, as in each department, when physicians come on board, there is a mentor assigned, and courses in leadership, etc. Not so for the PAs, we are looked at as only a clinical "worker bee". They get research and leadership mentoring. We get told to go see patients.

 

I was on the Leadership and Professional Development Council of the AAPA, and I enjoyed it. However, the focus at that level was different than truly developing local leadership development at the insitutional level. They did a great job though, and the AAPA is interested in this topic. However, there is a limit to what a NATIONAL organization can do to implement leadership pathways at the local, institutional, and grassroots levels....

 

This is a major issue for the profession, and one on which I have been on my soapbox for years. Unfortunately, there is a flip side to this as well. There is a tremendous sense of apathy I get from so many younger PAs. A sort of "I just want to do my job and go home" mentality. This runs counter to leadership initiatives, and makes implementing them difficult. Not every younger PA is, and certainly many of the posters on here (by virtue of the fact that they come on here to discuss these issues) are not like that, but a great many I encounter seem to be.

 

We need to rid ourselves of the "worker bee" mentality that many PAs seem to carry......for if so many of us espouse that and act like that, is it any wonder that so many institutions don't feel a pressing need to implement leadership pathways for PAs????

 

Just something to think about.

 

Mike

[EMEDPA]

it doesn't help that most hospitals list a bsn as a prerequisite to any leadership position these days....

[jdtpac]

Mary, I've been saying this for years. I've battled at my own institution, as in each department, when physicians come on board, there is a mentor assigned, and courses in leadership, etc. Not so for the PAs, we are looked at as only a clinical "worker bee". They get research and leadership mentoring. We get told to go see patients.

 

I was on the Leadership and Professional Development Council of the AAPA, and I enjoyed it. However, the focus at that level was different than truly developing local leadership development at the insitutional level. They did a great job though, and the AAPA is interested in this topic. However, there is a limit to what a NATIONAL organization can do to implement leadership pathways at the local, institutional, and grassroots levels....

 

This is a major issue for the profession, and one on which I have been on my soapbox for years. Unfortunately, there is a flip side to this as well. There is a tremendous sense of apathy I get from so many younger PAs. A sort of "I just want to do my job and go home" mentality. This runs counter to leadership initiatives, and makes implementing them difficult. Not every younger PA is, and certainly many of the posters on here (by virtue of the fact that they come on here to discuss these issues) are not like that, but a great many I encounter seem to be.

 

We need to rid ourselves of the "worker bee" mentality that many PAs seem to carry......for if so many of us espouse that and act like that, is it any wonder that so many institutions don't feel a pressing need to implement leadership pathways for PAs????

 

Just something to think about.

 

Mike

 

Very well articulated as always Mike! If I might add, Leadership development in the PA profession is difficult to achieve until you define what area of a PA's career we are targeting: #1) in practice or #2) professional organization. #2) is probably the easiest to define in that it begins at the lowest level by joining the state, specialty organization or the Academy and to become involved in a committee or task force, or just attend one of these meetings and network with your leader so you can get more involved. As you become more involved you'll find ways and methods of becoming a good leader, their connections with mentors and being put in positions of responsibility as you grow within the organization.

 

#1) developing as a leader in practice situations is much harder. I speak from personal experience with this. Most physician assistants that are given positions of responsibility such as Chief PA are given these positions because they were competent medical providers. It had nothing to do with your administrative abilities. And they are generally not given positions of authority over large groups of until they have gone back and either received an MBA, MHA and then they may not even be managing other PAs. I have several administrative positions over my career generally in charge of small groups of PAs either in the medical/surgical departments or in the ED. Just prior to my injury, I had accepted a position as the Director of the Advanced Practice Services of a 350 bed hospital which consisted of 19 PAs and APNs that provided house staff service in medicine/surgery and ICU. What helped me get disposition was my resume included graduating from George Washington University, having a Masters degree, being on the Board of Directors of the AAPA, OAPA, working in governmental affairs for the Ohio Association and demonstrating that I attended several leadership seminars and that I had leadership skills. It takes time but this is one way PAs advance in leadership. I think employers look at your resume and see that you have been involved in a professional organization in leadership roles they see that you have the qualifications they require for the position. And if you have attended seminars it shows that you have a commitment to want to be a leader.