The Urologist as an Effective Administrative Leader

Abstract

Urologists are uniquely equipped with the skills and experiences to serve as effective administrative leaders in the current healthcare climate. With complex healthcare challenges such as treating patients across the care continuum to identifying new, cost-effective ways to move treatment from the inpatient to ambulatory setting, the clinical subspecialty lends itself to addressing some of these broader issues in the day-to-day management of patients with urologic conditions. Administrative leaders are tasked with creating an environment in which physicians, administrative staff and researchers can grow and prosper in their careers. This involves clinical practice efficiency, financial management, regulatory and billing compliance, effective marketing and outreach, educational program development, human resource management and talent acquisition, and creative scientific inquiry. The most effective administrative leaders take the time to be introspective to get clear about their motivations and leadership values. Additionally, there are several concrete strategies, some of which we touched on that can be helpful to employ as an aspiring clinical administrator. With the ever-increasing demands on the time and effort of clinicians, taking on the role of an administrative leader may seem like yet another burden posed to today’s urologist, however, when done well it can provide professional rewards unlike any other aspect of your career.