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“We want to change the system”: a qualitative study on emergency medicine physician leadership

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Abstract

Objective

The significance of physician leadership to help transform the healthcare system has been increasingly discussed. This study looked at the qualities of emergency medicine (EM) physicians that support or inhibit their work as healthcare leaders.

Methods

Through an iterative process of semi-structured interviews and then focus groups, we examined why EM physicians pursue leadership roles, the strengths they bring and the frustrations they encounter. Thematic analysis identified factors that facilitate and inhibit the work of EM physicians as they enter leadership roles.

Results

These findings can be summarized in four key themes. (1) A desire to improve the wider health system was often a prime motivator for entering a leadership role. (2) EM physicians’ clinical skills such as confident decision-making, relationship building through communication, and comfort with uncertainty supported their successful transition to leadership. (3) EM physician leaders perceived shiftwork as both a potential benefit and a challenge in their leadership role and felt it needed to be carefully managed to ensure personal wellness and success. And (4) participants were not driven to take on leadership positions by financial remuneration but stated that the discrepancy between EM clinical and leadership compensation was a point of stress.

Conclusion

As physician leadership is explored as a mechanism to support the healthcare system’s success, this project provides insights into the realities experiences by EM physicians and considerations for healthcare professionals as they encourage physicians into leadership positions.

Résumé

Objectif

L’importance du leadership des médecins pour aider à transformer le système de santé est de plus en plus discutée. Cette étude s'est penchée sur les qualités des médecins urgentistes (MU) qui soutiennent ou entravent leur travail en tant que leaders dans le domaine des soins de santé.

Méthodes

Grâce à un processus itératif d'entretiens semi-structurés puis de groupes de discussion, nous avons examiné les raisons pour lesquelles les médecins spécialistes en médecine d'urgence assument des fonctions de direction, les forces qu'ils apportent et les frustrations qu'ils rencontrent. L'analyse thématique a permis d'identifier les facteurs qui facilitent et inhibent le travail des médecins en médecine d'urgence lorsqu'ils accèdent à des fonctions de direction.

Résultats

Ces résultats peuvent être résumés en quatre thèmes principaux. 1) Le désir d’améliorer le système de santé dans son ensemble était souvent une motivation majeure pour accéder à un rôle de leadership. 2) Les compétences cliniques des médecins en médecine d'urgence, telles que la prise de décision en toute confiance, l'établissement de relations par la communication et l'aisance face à l'incertitude, ont favorisé leur transition réussie vers le leadership. 3) Les médecins leaders en médecine d'urgence percevaient le travail posté comme un avantage potentiel et un défi dans leur rôle de leadership et estimaient qu'il devait être géré avec soin pour assurer le bien-être et la réussite personnels. Et 4) les participants n'ont pas été incités à occuper des postes de direction par la rémunération financière, mais ont déclaré que l'écart entre la rémunération clinique et la rémunération de la direction de MU était un point de stress.

Conclusions

Alors que le leadership des médecins est considéré comme un mécanisme de soutien au succès du système de santé, ce projet donne un aperçu des réalités vécues par les médecins en médecine d'urgence et des considérations pour les professionnels de la santé qui encouragent les médecins à occuper des postes de direction.

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Data availability

The data presented in this paper is not publicly available to protect the privacy of the participants. Please reach out to the corresponding author with all inquiries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    J. Stempien

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    M. Gibson

  3. Royal Roads University, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    A. Harrison

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  1. J. Stempien
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Correspondence to J. Stempien.

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Stempien, J., Gibson, M. & Harrison, A. “We want to change the system”: a qualitative study on emergency medicine physician leadership. Can J Emerg Med 26, 266–270 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43678-024-00667-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43678-024-00667-7

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